• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea TC
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.8-13
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• 2012

In this paper, we investigate cooperative spectrum sensing scheme for sensor network-aided cognitive radio systems with energy harvesting capability. In the proposed model, each sensor node harvests ambient energy from environment such as solar, wind, mechanical vibration, or thermoelectric effect. We propose adaptive cooperative spectrum sensing scheme in which each sensor node adaptively carries out energy detection depending on the residual energy in its energy storage and then conveys the sensing result to the fusion center. From simulation results, we show that the proposed scheme minimizes the false alarm probability for given target detection probability by adjusting the number of samples for energy detector.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.777-784
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• 2017

Energy harvesting through a thermoelectric module normally makes use of the temperature gradient in the system's operational environment. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the desired output power when the system is subjected to an environment in which a low temperature gradient is generated across the module, because the power generation efficiency of the thermoelectric device is not optimized. The utilization of solar energy, which is a form of renewable energy abundant in nature, has mostly been limited to photovoltaic solar cells and solar thermal energy generation. However, photovoltaic power generation is capable of utilizing only a narrow wavelength band from the sunlight and, thus, the power generation efficiency might be lowered by light scattering. In the case of solar thermal energy generation, the system usually requires large-scale facilities. In this study, a simple and small size thermoelectric power generation system with a solar concentrator was designed to create a large temperature gradient for enhanced performance. A solar tracking system was used to concentrate the solar thermal energy during the experiments and a liquid circulating chiller was installed to maintain a large temperature gradient in order to avoid heat transfer to the bottom of the thermoelectric module. Then, the setup was tested through a series of experiments and the performance of the system was analyzed for the purpose of evaluating its feasibility and validity.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.436-443
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• 2017

Recently, the development of new energy technologies has become a hot topic due to problems,such as global warming. Unlike renewable energy technologies, such as solar energy generation, solar power, and wind power, which are optimized to achieve medium or above output power, the output power of energy harvesting technology is very small and has not received much attention. On the other hand, as the mobile industry has been revitalized recently, the utility of energy harvesting technology has been reevaluated. In addition, the technology of tracking the maximum power point has been actively researched. This paper proposes a new MPPT(Maximum Power Point Tracking) control method for a TEM(thermoelectric module) for load resistance. The V-I curve characteristics and internal resistance of TEM were analyzed and the conventional MPPT control methods were compared. The P&O(Perturbation and Observation) control method is more accurate, but it is less economical than the CV (Constant Voltage)control method because it usestwo sensors to measure the voltage and current source. The CV control method is superior to the P&O control method in economic aspects because it uses only one voltage sensor but the MPP is not matched precisely. In this paper, a method wasdesigned to track the MPP of TEM combining the advantages of the two control method. The proposed MPPT control method wasverified by PSIM simulation and H/W implementation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.295-301
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• 2023

Thermoelectric (TE) energy harvesting, which converts available thermal resources into electrical energy, is attracting significant attention, as it facilitates wireless and self-powered electronics. Recently, as demand for portable/wearable electronic devices and sensors increases, organic-inorganic TE films with polymeric matrix are being studied to realize flexible thermoelectric energy harvesters (f-TEHs). Here, we developed flexible organic-inorganic TE films with p-type Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ powder and polymeric matrices such as poly(3,4-eethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). The fabricated TE films with a PEDOT:PSS matrix and 1 wt% of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) exhibited a power factor value of 3.96 µW·m^-1·K^-2 which is about 2.8 times higher than that of PVDF-based TE film. We also fabricated f-TEHs using both types of TE films and investigated the TE output performance. The f-TEH made of PEDOT:PSS-based TE films harvested the maximum load voltage of 3.4 mV, with a load current of 17.4 µA, and output power of 15.7 nW at a temperature difference of 25 K, whereas the f-TEH with PVDF-based TE films generated values of 0.6 mV, 3.3 µA, and 0.54 nW. This study will broaden the fields of the research on methods to improve TE efficiency and the development of flexible organic-inorganic TE films and f-TEH.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2013.10a
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• pp.346-349
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• 2013

This paper describes a triple-input energy harvesting circuit using solar, vibration and thermoelectric energy with MPPT(Maximum Power Point Tracking) control. The designed circuit employs MPPT control to harvest maximum power available from a solar cell, PZT vibration element and thermoelectric generator. The harvested energies are simultaneously combined and stored in a storage capacitor, and then managed and transferred into a sensor node by PMU(Power Management Unit). MPPT controls are implemented using the linear relation between the open-circuit voltage of an energy transducer and its MPP(Maximum Power Point) voltage. The proposed circuit is designed in a CMOS 0.18um technology and its functionality has been verified through extensive simulations. The designed chip occupies $945{\mu}m{\times}995{\mu}m$.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2018

Thermoelectric thin film devices of the in-plane configuration consisting of 8 pairs of n-type $Bi_2Te_3$ and p-type $Sb_2Te_3$ legs were processed on Si submounts by electrodeposition. The thermoelectric generation characteristics of the thin film devices were investigated with respect to the apparent temperature difference ${\Delta}T$ caused by LED lighting as well as the change of the leg thickness. When ${\Delta}T$ was 7.4 K, the open circuit voltages of 6.1 mV, 7.4 mV, and 11.8 mV and the maximum output powers of 6.6 nW, 12.8 nW, and 41.9 nW were measured for the devices with the thermoelectric legs of which thickness were $2.5{\mu}m$, $5{\mu}m$, and $10{\mu}m$, respectively.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.130-139
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• 2023

Thermoelectric materials and devices are energy-harvesting devices that can effectively recycle waste heat into electricity. Thermoelectric power generation is widely used in factories, engines, and even in human bodies as they continuously generate heat. However, thermoelectric elements exhibit poor performance and low energy efficiency; research is being conducted to find new materials or improve the thermoelectric performance of existing materials, that is, by ensuring a high figure-of-merit (zT) value. For increasing zT, higher σ (electrical conductivity) and S (Seebeck coefficient) and a lower κ (thermal conductivity) are required. Here, interface engineering by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to increase zT of n-type BiTeSe (BTS) thermoelectric powders. ALD of the BTS powders is performed in a rotary-type ALD reactor, and 40 to 100 ALD cycles of ZnO thin films are conducted at 100℃. The physical and chemical properties and thermoelectric performance of the ALD-coated BTS powders and pellets are characterized. It is revealed that electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity are decoupled, and thus, zT of ALD-coated BTS pellets is increased by more than 60% compared to that of the uncoated BTS pellets. This result can be utilized in a novel method for improving the thermoelectric efficiency in materials processing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.565-568
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• 2014

This paper presents a 0.2V DC/DC boost converter with regulated output for thermoelectric energy harvesting. To use low voltages from a thermoelectric device, a start-up circuit consisting of native NMOS transistors and resistors boosts an internal VDD, and the boosted VDD is used to operate the internal control block. When the VDD reaches a predefined value, a detector circuit makes the start-up block turn off to minimize current consumption. The final boosted VSTO is achieved by alternately operating the sub-boost converter for VDD and the main boost converter for VSTO according to the comparator outputs. When the VSTO reaches 2.4V, a buck converter starts to operate to generate a stabilized output VOUT. Simulation results shows that the designed converter generates a regulated 1.8V output from an input voltage of 0.2V, and its maximum power efficiency is 60%. The chip designed using a $0.35{\mu}m$ CMOS process occupies $1.1mm{\times}1.0mm$ including pads.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1201-1210
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• 2018

The applications of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) have received a lot of attention both in terms of harvesting waste thermal energy and the need for multi-levels of power. It is critical to track the optimum electrical operating point using DC to DC converters controlled by a pulse that is generated through a maximum power point tracking algorithm (MPPT). In this paper, the hardware implementation of a short-current pulse algorithm has been demonstrated under steady stated and transient conditions. In addition, the MPPT algorithm has been proposed, which is one of the most effective and applicable algorithms for obtaining the maximum power point of TEGs. During this study, the proposed prototype has been validated both analytically and experimentally. It has also demonstrated successful performance, which highlights the claimed advantages of the proposed MPPT solution.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.36-42
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• 2012

본 논문은 고파워 전자소자로부터 에너지를 수확하는 열전생성기의 성능에 pellet의 기학학적 구조가 미치는 영향들을 보고한다. 열경계저항을 포함하는 열전모델을 적용하여, 다양한 경계조건들과 열원의 열율들에 대해 pellet의 높이, pellet의 단면적, thermocouple의 수를 최적화 하고, 이처럼 최적화된 pellet의 기하학적 구조를 갖는 열전생성기의 성능과 일반적인 pellet으로 구성된 열전생성기의 전력생성성능과 효율이 예측되고 비교되어진다. 예측된 결과는 최적화된 pellet으로 구성된 열전생성기가 일반적인 pellet으로 구성된 열전생성기보다 2-10배까지 생성효율이 우수함을 보여준다. 최적화된 pellet으로 구성된 열전생성기와 일반적인 pellet으로 구성된 열전생성기의 열적성능도 예측되고 비교된다.