Chip extends battery life in wireless system networks

The device combines energy harvesting and power management capability with a primary battery cell to extend the battery's usable lifetime. It harvests energy from thermoelectric generators and thermopiles when these sources are available, storing excess power in a storage capacitor and transitioning to the primary cell to power a wireless sensor node when harvested power is unavailable. The LTC3107's internal boost converter, combined with a small step up transformer, harvests energy from input voltages down to 20mV and delivers an output which tracks the battery voltage. An additional 2.2V LDO output provides power to an external microprocessor. If harvested energy is not available, the system is powered directly from the battery, requiring only 6µA.