A Hybrid Switched-Capacitor Converter for Capacitive Wireless Power Transfer in Biomedical Applications

Abstract

On market rechargeable pulse generators, use inductive wireless power transfer (I-WPT), but capacitive wireless power transfer (C-WPT) has the potential to provide safety and size improvements over I-WPT. Current C-WPT research is focused on resonant capacitive coupling methods. Such works have reported power transfer efficiency of less than 40%. In the proposed thesis, a capacitively isolated Dickson converter, a type of hybrid switched capacitor converter, will be investigated to determine if it can be used to safely, efficiently, and in a small package deliver power to biomedical implants.