Start-Up Circuits for Ultra-Low-Voltage Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting: A Topology-Oriented Review and Design Guide

Thermoelectric generator (TEG)-based energy harvesting (EH) has emerged as a promising solution for powering ultra-low-power electronic systems. However, the inherently low output voltage of miniature TEGs is often below a range of 40–100 mV under small temperature gradients, presenting a fundamental cold-start challenge for DC-DC boost converters, preventing fully autonomous operation without dedicated start-up circuitry. Although numerous start-up techniques have been reported, the existing literature lacks a focused, design-oriented review of circuit architecture specifically optimized for ultra-low-voltage TEG applications. This paper addresses this gap by introducing a unified classification framework and providing a structured, topology-oriented analysis of state-of-the-art start-up strategies for TEG-based EH systems. Reported techniques are organized into five categories: external energy assistance, mechanical switch-assisted techniques, multi-source EH, transformer-based architectures, and oscillator-driven DC-AC-DC conversion. Each category is comparatively evaluated in terms of start-up voltage, integration level, efficiency, and system autonomy. Among these, oscillator-based approaches, particularly ring oscillator (RO) architectures, emerge as the most viable pathway toward fully integrated and scalable implementations, owing to their CMOS compatibility and architectural flexibility. The review further discusses key design trade-offs, handover stability challenges, and practical limitations, and provides architectural insights to guide the development of next-generation autonomous TEG-powered platforms.