By :- Dr. Saswat Kumar Ram
Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, SRM University – AP
In the evolving landscape of the Internet of Things (IoT), the trade-off between power efficiency and security has become increasingly significant. Due to the limited capacity of fixed batteries, the longevity and reliability of IoT sensor nodes are often compromised. Any loss of information in IoT systems can lead to incorrect decision-making and unintended actuation—consequences that can be critical in real-time applications.
Energy harvesting has emerged as a promising solution to address power constraints. It involves collecting energy from ambient sources such as solar, thermal, vibrational, or RF energy. However, storing this harvested energy efficiently remains a challenge. Rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors are among the most viable energy storage solutions currently available to bridge the power gap.
To ensure optimal energy conversion and utilization, a robust power conditioning circuit is essential. These circuits help extract maximum power from variable natural sources, which are often influenced by changing environmental conditions.
As energy harvesting systems become more integrated and intelligent, security also becomes paramount. Energy harvesting circuits must be safeguarded from potential threats and adversarial attacks. On-chip security solutions, such as Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs), offer promising protection mechanisms by leveraging unique, hardware-level identifiers that are nearly impossible to replicate.
In the pursuit of monolithic integration in integrated circuits, inductor-free power management techniques are being increasingly preferred to reduce form factor and enhance compatibility. Charge pumps, particularly reconfigurable charge pumps, have become popular choices for on-chip voltage boosting due to their compact size and improved energy efficiency.
To further optimize power extraction, a variety of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques are employed based on the specific characteristics of the energy source and application requirements.
Given the exponential growth of IoT applications—from smart homes to industrial automation—it is no longer a choice but a necessity to implement secure and efficient energy harvesting systems for IoT end-node devices. Balancing power management with robust security measures is the key to enabling reliable, scalable, and sustainable IoT deployments in the current era.
