Energy Harvesting for IoT, Wireless Sensors, Stand-Alone Systems and Electronics

Dear Colleagues,

The next generation of battery-operated wireless sensors, wearables and other electronic devices represent suitable candidates for the application of energy harvesting systems. This is because batteries alone may not be sufficient to supply the desired device’s lifetime due to their limited capacity. For example, the capacity of commercial class AA batteries, e.g., the most suitable and readily available for deployment, is limited to only 3000 mAh. Thus, the association of such devices with the use of some kind of energy harvesting system can reveal an interesting approach. Energy harvesters are currently emerging for a number of applications, from biomedical to automotive. Some of the most important known energy sources of interest are thermoelectric (from thermal gradients), photovoltaic (from solar light) and piezoelectric (from mechanical vibrations). Considering that many stand-alone devices are powered on a peak basis, e.g., the active mode for transmission or reception of data requires much more current than standby (sleep) mode, and that the environmental conditions for energy harvesting may not always be present, the collected energy needs to be stored in a small rechargeable battery integrated in the system. Ultra-low-power electronics perform DC–DC conversion with a variable conversion factor and recharge the battery under optimal conditions. All of these issues and applications related to energy harvesting are objects of focus in this Special Issue. Topics of interest include, among others, the following:

• Materials for energy harvesting;
• Mechanical energy harvesting;
• Thermoelectric energy harvesting;
• Electromagnetic energy harvesting;
• Energy harvesting for wearables;
• Energy harvesting for stand-alone systems;
• Microsystems for energy harvesting;
• Energy harvesting for microsystems;
• Energy harvesting for IoT devices;
• Energy harvesting for wireless networks;
• Power management for energy harvesting systems;
• Electronics for energy harvesting systems;
• Self-powered sensors;
• Applications of energy harvesting;
• Communication protocols for energy harvesting systems;
• Power converters for energy harvesting systems.

Dr. Joao L. Afonso
Dr. Vítor Monteiro
Dr. José A. Afonso
Dr. João Paulo Pereira do Carmo
Guest Editors

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