An Optimized Inductorless Ring-Oscillator Based DC-DC Boost Converter for TEG-Based Applications

This paper presents a ring oscillator-based DC-DC boost converter optimized in terms of area and power for Thermo-Electric Generator (TEG)-based applications. This inductor-less design takes a minimum input varying voltage in the range of 80-200mV and provides a stable output voltage of 1.1V. The architecture comprises a current-starved ring oscillator that further drives a Linear (Dickson) charge pump and a Maximum PowerPoint Tracking (MPPT) block to enhance output efficiency. The absence of an inductor allows no zero-current switching, hence, reducing the power loss within the circuit. The positive feedback loop raises the maximum achieved efficiency of the system to 83.5% with a maximum output power of 2.81 mW. This fully integrated power management IC is designed in 180-nm CMOS Technology.