MINIMIZED VOLTAGE DROP RECTIFIER CIRCUIT USING PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCER FOR ENERGY HARVESTING

Abstract

Piezoelectric systems produce an AC voltage signal at the output and to utilize this voltage, It is required to convert this AC signal into DC with the assistance of the rectifying circuit. The aim of this research is to minimize the voltage drop VD of the conventional diode by designing a diode circuit with the help of MOSFETs to be used in the rectifier. In conventional full bridge rectifier (Con-FBR) the power losses are very high because of diodes drop VD. To minimize these losses the Con-FBR circuit is altered with the employment of both n-type and p-type MOSFETs to be operated in the deep triode (ohmic) region while blocking the reverse leakage which results in reducing the threshold voltage VTH to few mV. Both positive and negative cycles are availed and investigated to extract the maximum output voltage. It is simulated in NI-Multisim (version 14.0) and is implemented using discrete components. The results show that the bridge rectifier using proposed low diode drop configuration has a better power conversion efficiency and can extract power '4' four times more than the Con-FBR.