AEM-PF-EVK Solar Development Kit with e-peas PMIC (DEV-EPEAS)
Editor-in-Chief of Embedded Computing Design, Brandon Lewis, unpacks the Indoor/Outdoor e-peas Solar Development Kit
The AEM-PF-EVK Solar Development Kit with e-peas PMIC (DEV-EPEAS) makes integrating indoor solar into electronics simple. It includes e-peas high-performance energy harvesting PMIC with integrated power management designed and optimized for PowerFilm’s thin-film indoor and outdoor solar panels.
The AEM-PF-EVK efficiently extracts energy from the solar modules, which can be stored in a rechargeable element while also providing two independent regulated voltages to power IoT devices. The integrated power management supports multiple storage element charge configurations, including, Li-Po, Li-ion, LiFePO4, Solid State, and Single/Double cell supercapacitors. Configurations are easily selected by moving pin jumpers to desired positions.
Harvesting indoor light with the paired LL200-2.4-37 panel provides approximately 80 µW in a low light luminosity (200 lux). After 8 hours of exposure, the AEM10941 harvester will collect about 1.8 J of energy.
Harvesting outdoor light with the paired MPT2.4-21 panel provides approximately 6.8 mW under indirect or ambient sunlight (25% of direct sunlight). After 8 hours of exposure, the AEM10941 harvester will collect about 156 J of energy.
What can I power?
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BLE Beacons and Tags
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E-Paper Displays
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Telematics
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Smart Locks
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Thermostats
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Smart Windows and Shades
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Wireless Sensors
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Wearables
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Field and Herd Monitoring
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Other Low Power Electronics
Features
Energy Harvester and Power Management
• Coldstart at 3µW 380mV
• Global quiescent current of 400nA
• MPPT ratio configured to 80%
• Storage Element Voltage Protection
• Primary Battery with minimum voltage protection
• 2 LDOs with enable pins
• BAL feature for dual cells supercapacitor
• Internal Boost Converter (up to 95 %): 50mV 5V
Connectors
• 1 screw connector for Power Film PV cell
• 1 screw connector for Storage Element
• Multiple footprints for Super capacitors
• 1 screw connector for Primary Battery
• 1 screw connector for HVOUT LDO output 80 mA)
• 1 screw connector for LVOU LDO output 20 mA)
Configuration
• 3 jumpers for CFG Storage element protection
• 6 resistors footprint for custom mode
• 2 jumpers for LDO enable/disable
• 2 jumpers for Primary battery used
• 1 jumper if using the BAL feature (dual cells super capacitor)
Size
• 58 mm x 49 mm
• 4 x M 2 5 Mounting holes
What’s In The Kit?
• AEM-PF-EVK Dev Kit PCBA
• (2) MPT2.4-21 Solar Panel with leads
• (2) LL200-2.4-37 Indoor Solar Panel with leads
• 60mAh rechargeable Li-Polymer battery
• Instructions and product documentation
Expected Power
LL200-2.4-37 (200 Lux)
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Power: 0.07W
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Operating Voltage: 1.6V
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Current: 0.044mA
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Average VoC: 2.4V
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Average Isc: 0.06mA
LL200-2.4-37 (1000 Lux)
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Power: 0.462mW
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Operating Voltage: 2.1V
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Current: 0.220mA
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Average VoC: 2.4V
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Average Isc: 0.34mA
MPT2.4-21 (100% Sun)
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Power: 32mW
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Operating Voltage: 2.4V
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Current: 14.2mA
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Average VoC: 3.2V
IV Curves
AEM10941 Efficiency
Additional Resources
AEM-PF-EVK Solar Development Kit with e-peas PMIC Spec Sheet
AEM-PF-EVK Solar Development Kit with e-peas PMIC Quick Start Guide