What is Solar Thermal Energy Harvesting IC : Top Manufacturers

A solar thermal energy harvesting IC is a power management integrated circuit designed to capture, convert, and regulate energy generated from thermal and solar sources. These ICs support ultra-low-power electronics, IoT devices, wireless sensors, and energy-autonomous systems requiring sustainable power solutions.

Ambient energy sources, such as solar, thermal, radio frequency (RF), and vibration, are abundant in our environment. Energy harvesters are devices that capture these sources and convert them into usable electrical energy. These devices typically consist of transducers and power management circuits.

The power densities available from solar sources range from approximately 10µW to 25mW, while thermal sources can provide approximately 20µW to about 10mW.

Solar harvesting leverages solar irradiance from the sun, using external solar panels to convert sunlight into electrical voltage. The ICs often employ Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms to extract the maximum possible energy from the solar panel. Selection of an appropriate IC depends on factors such as supported storage devices, input voltage range, and minimum cold start voltage.

Thermal energy harvesting captures heat dissipated by machines or electronic/electrical components.

Solar and Thermal Energy Harvesting IC Manufacturers and Vendors

The following table lists several vendors and manufacturers of solar and thermal energy harvesting ICs.

Manufacturers	Part number with features
Maxim Integrated	Part number of IC : MAX20361 Features : Input voltage : 225 mV (min.) to 2.5V , Output current : 30 mA, MPPT supported, I2C interface
ST Microelectronics	Part numbers : SPV1040, SPV1050 Features (SPV1050) : Input voltage :2.2 to 5.3 V, Output current : 30 to 70 mA, Cold Start : 0.5V (With boost conversion)
e-peas semiconductor	Part number : AEM20940 , AEM10941 Features (AEM20940) : output voltage : 2.2 to 4.5V, output current : 80 mA, Cold start : 380 mV Features (AEM10941) : Input voltage : 50mV to 5V , output voltage (selectable)

Summary

Solar thermal energy harvesting ICs convert ambient solar and thermal energy into usable electrical power. Manufacturers develop harvesting solutions for IoT sensors, wearables, and self-powered electronic devices.