Micro-Power Harvesting from Electromagnetic Interferences in Power Systems.

Abstract

The increasing demand for real-time monitoring systems has accelerated the adoption of distributed sensors operating in the ultra-low-power regime. However, in retrofittable and hard-to-access applications, providing a continuous external power supply is challenging, while batteries are limited by their lifetime and maintenance requirements. Energy harvesting represents a promising approach to enable autonomous sensor operation by exploiting ambient energy sources, including photovoltaic, thermal, mechanical, and electromagnetic sources. In this work, different circuit topologies for near-field electromagnetic energy harvesting are investigated through simulation and experimental validation. The proposed approach exploits the electromagnetic interference generated by shielded commercial power electronics, such as drivers and power supplies, as an available energy source. The results demonstrate the capability of compact and easily deployable circuits to capture and convert near-field electromagnetic energy into usable electrical power. The proposed methodology provides a flexible solution for powering low-power monitoring systems and can be adapted to different environments by tailoring the harvesting circuit parameters to the available electromagnetic source.