DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A STOCHASTIC WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK

BY JOEL CHRISTOPHER JORDAN B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003

THESIS Submitted in partial fulllment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004

Urbana, Illinois

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank my adviser Roy Campbell for providing me with an interesting project to work on. Also, I thank Doug Jones and Dan Sachs for introducing me to an interesting direction to take the project in. Don Schmidt initially informed me of the possibility of this project. Jacky Leungs long hours of soldering made this project possible. The student chapter of the ACM provided me with laboratory space and test equipment. I thank my family for their understanding and encouragement, and especially my father Glenn Jordan, who set a ne example for me to follow in my studies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi vii 1 4 4 4 5 6 8 8 8 9 11 12 13 13 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 20 21 21 21 23 23 23 23

CHAPTER 2 STOCHASTIC SENSOR NETWORK DESIGN 2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Stochastic Sensor Network Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Network Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Test Network Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER 3 SENSOR NODE DESIGN 3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Power Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1 Circuit overview . . . . . . . . . 3.2.2 Circuit implementation . . . . . 3.2.3 Reservoir capacitor selection . . 3.3 Energy Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.1 Solar panel selection . . . . . . 3.3.2 Alternate power sources . . . . 3.4 Transducers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1 Sound-level transducer . . . . . 3.4.2 Light level detection . . . . . . 3.4.3 Other sensors . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Wireless Communication . . . . . . . . 3.5.1 Radio module . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.2 Antenna considerations . . . . . 3.6 Control Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.1 Microcontroller . . . . . . . . . 3.7 Timekeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER 4 SENSOR NODE 4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Hardware . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 Hardware overview . CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4.3 4.4 4.5

4.2.2 Expansion connector . . . . . 4.2.3 Reprogramming the nodes . . 4.2.4 Prototype circuit boards . . . Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . Base Station and Debugging Circuit .

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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . APPENDIX A SOLAR CELL DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page

3.1 3.2

Low-light performance for identically rated solar panels. . . . . . . . . . . Solar panel power production per unit area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

Solar stochastic sensor node block diagram. . . . . . . . . . Conceptual solar cell IV curve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Solar battery charger circuit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Power supply circuit schematic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aerogel, left, and double layer, right, 0.47-F supercapacitors. Four solar panels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound-level detector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Radio transceiver circuit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stochastic sensor node schematic. . . . . . . Expansion header pinout. . . . . . . . . . . In-circuit serial programming header pinout. Stochastic sensor node prototype. . . . . . . Software operation owchart. . . . . . . . . Schematic of debugging circuit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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A.1 Solar cell equivalent circuit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Wireless sensor networks have generated much research interest in recent years as advances in electronics technology have made them feasible. In general, such a network consists of many nodes scattered over an area to provide distributed sensing and data processing [1]. These networks can enable unattended monitoring of physical quantities over large areas on a scale that would be prohibitively expensive to accomplish with humans. Many uses have been suggested for wireless sensor networks, including habitat [2] and medical monitoring [3]. Many groups have designed sensor nodes. These include Berkeleys Mica motes [4] and PicoRadio projects [5], MITs Amps [6], and Rices GNOMES [7], as well as many others. All of these sensors have similar goals, such as small physical size, low power consumption, and rich sensing abilities. In addition, the TinyOS project [8] provides a framework for designing exible distributed applications for data collection and processing across a sensor network. Many sensor network applications require the collection of data over long periods of time. Sensor nodes are generally powered with batteries, putting a limit on how small the node can be made for a given lifetime. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that battery capacities will increase dramatically in the near future. Historically, battery charge density has increased by a mere 2% per year over the last 50 years [9]. As an example, a CR2032 lithium coin cell, about the size of a quarter, would provide an average of only 75 W if used completely over a year. As an alternative to batteries, sensor nodes can scavenge energy from their environment. Ambient light, mechanical vibrations, or even acoustic sources could provide power to operate a sensor. Research suggests that up to 100 W/cm3 can be obtained from vibrational sources [10]. A thin-lm solar cell may provide 5 mW/cm2 of power 1

in bright sunlight, but only about 15 W/cm2 at desk level in oce lighting. Unlike batteries, these ambient sources are often unreliable. A solar-powered node could no longer operate if a power outage turned o the lights in a building. Sensor nodes, then, must operate with extremely low power dissipation. However, consider that a typical commercial radio transceiver requires 10 mW of power in receive mode and 35 mW while transmitting [11]. Recent research has produced a transceiver design which needs only 1 mW in its receive mode [12] and 25 mW while transmitting [13]. Even this is more power than a small sensor node can produce. A solution to this problem is low-duty-cycle operation, where sensors spend a large percentage of the time in a low-power sleep mode. Because the power source is often unreliable, the duty cycle will be unreliable, varying with the amount of power available. Others have constructed self-powered sensor nodes with low-duty-cycle operation [14]. However, existing routing algorithms have problems when operating on such hardware. Some, such as GEAR [15], include power reserves in the route selection heuristic so that routes prefer nodes with more power available. Unfortunately, it requires nodes to constantly listen for transmissions from neighbors, so low-duty-cycle operation is not possible. Other algorithms, such as LEACH [16], rely on time division multiple access (TDMA) schemes to acheive low duty cycle operation. In this type of algorithm, a master node assigns communication time slots to slave nodes, which only turn on their radios during these time slots. Because self-powered nodes may have unreliable power sources, however, they cannot be guaranteed to wake up as scheduled. To deal with these problems, stochastic sensor networks have been proposed [17]. In such a network, nodes store power while in an inactive mode, then become active until the stored energy is depleted, at which point they return to the inactive state. This process is unsynchronized between the sensor nodes, thus forming a stochastic sensor network. Also, no routing is used. Instead, data is propagated to its destination using much simpler stochastic ooding. Such a network can be made reliable under certain assumptions about the active node density [17], [18]. Furthermore, high-level protocols can be layered onto the network to enable rich applications [19]. While simulations have veried that these networks should work, no real-world testing has taken place. If this

theory can be demonstrated in real nodes, it would have great advantages for enabling simple, robust networks of self-powered sensors. Such testing requires a wireless sensor node with rich power management features that no existing architectures oer. Therefore, a new sensor architecture has been designed with extremely low power consumption in mind. This sensor uses solar cells to collect energy and store it in a large reservoir capacitor. While in the inactive state, the sensor can check its stored power levels to determine whether to enter the active mode or to continue storing energy.

CHAPTER 2 STOCHASTIC SENSOR NETWORK DESIGN

2.1 Introduction

A stochastic sensor network makes certain assumptions about the capabilities of the nodes. These are reviewed here, along with a network model that determines the conditions for proper network operation. Finally, details of a planned network implementation are presented.

2.2

Stochastic Sensor Network Properties

For the development of stochastic sensor networks, three important assumptions are made about the operation of the nodes [19]. First, each node has a sleep/wake cycle determined by local environmental conditions, which are not known to other nodes. At any given time, there is a probability, denoted Pa , that a node will be in its active state. Second, because they will not necessarily always have enough energy to maintain the contents of volatile memory, the nodes are assumed to be memoryless. Upon entering the active state, a node may not have any knowledge of the rest of the network or even of the local environment. Finally, nodes do not necessarily know their locations, in either absolute or relative terms. This assumption simplies node design and also allows for mobile nodes to participate in the network. Taken together, these assumptions severely limit a sensor network architecture. Stochastic wireless sensor networks use a simple design capable of providing robust operation even with these contraints. In such a network, a collection of unsynchronized nodes alternate between active and inactive states. While operating in its active state, a node will monitor its transducers for events, perform calculations, and listen for network trac. 4

When any node receives a message not intended for it, that node stores it in a message queue. As stored power is about to run out, the active node broadcasts one or all of the messages in its queue to its neighboring nodes and enters the inactive state. In the inactive state, the node operates in a low-power sleep mode and collects energy, periodically waking up to see if it has enough stored power to re-enter the active state. The design of a simple stochastic sensor network involves only slightly more planning than tossing nodes down randomly over an area. To ensure that the network performs somewhat robustly, an average active node density must be maintained. Recent work has developed a model which can determine this critical density for a given network [18]. The same model has been used here for the design of a test network for the proposed stochastic sensor platform.

2.3

Network Model

The network consists of Q nodes, each with exactly N neighbors. A node is said to be a neighbor if it is within the range of the rst nodes wireless transceiver. Since each node is only awake for a fraction of the total time, the probability PA denotes this fraction of time in the mean. A discrete-time analysis is used, where one time slots length is the amount of time it takes to transmit messages to other nodes. This is assumed to be xed even for varying numbers of messages. Once a node enters the active state, it remains awake for K 2 time slots. In the rst K 1 time slots of this active period, the node will listen for incoming packets. If any are received, they are added to a message queue and rebroadcast in the K th time slot of the active period. In the next time slot, the node enters the inactive state. During each subsequent time slot, the node will enter the active mode with probability PW or stay asleep with probability 1 PW . Provided the nodes wake up independently, this provides a Poisson model for the active-inactive cycle, and the distribution of the inactive time is geometric. Using this model for a steady-state analyis, it has been shown that a quasi-stable state exists where enough nodes are active to hear and rebroadcast messages to keep the

messages in circulation indenitely with high probability. Quasi-stability can occur when N PA > K K 1 (2.1)

This quasi-stability criterion has been shown to hold in the presence or absence of collisions and with single or multiple packet types circulating [18]. The wake probability PW is intended to ensure that the active-inactive cycle of each node is asynchronous with respect to the other nodes. In the case where PW = 1, the active-inactive cycles of all nodes will maintain a xed phase relationship, and therefore the awake probabilities of the nodes will not be independent. When PW < 1, nodes operate asynchronously and can be considered independent. In actual energy-scavenging nodes, the use of an uncertain inactive period length models the uncertainty of the time necessary to store enough energy for an active cycle. Mostly, the uncertainty is due to the dierent amounts of energy available to each node, but it is also partly due to component tolerances. Therefore, PW should be chosen such that the expected value of the awake time is the average time required to store enough energy for a single active cycle. Though simulations using this model show encouraging results, some discussion is necessary about real-world issues of building such a network. It has been demonstrated that even in controlled conditions, the reliability of radio links of similar nodes falls o rapidly with distance [20]. Neighborhood size is limited by the maximum transmit power, which is determined by government regulation. Because transmission occurs only during a small fraction of the active time, transmit power can often be increased with little eect on the sensor duty cycle. However, once the neighborhood size limit has been reached, the active node density can only be increased by increasing the duty cycle or the total node density.

2.4

Test Network Design

Because real sensors will have to operate on fairly low duty cycles, the quasi-stability criterion requires many nodes per neighborhood for a successful network. During system prototyping, however, a test network is needed to characterize the performance of a group 6

of nodes of a quantity small enough that design modications can still quickly be made if needed. The planned application is a sound-level detector in a hallway. Nodes with omnidirectional microphones will be placed around a hallway near ourescent lights. Initially, all of the nodes will be placed within transmit range of a constantly powered base station which will record all messages received. This should allow simple monitoring of stochastic ooding behavior. This test network, not yet complete at the time of this writing, will consist of 25 sensor nodes. Though a stochastic sensor network will typically consist of many more nodes, this small number was chosen to allow for quick modications to the nodes. With so few nodes, however, a high duty cycle must be acheived for quasi-stability to be observed. After node operation is veried in this limited network, more nodes can be constructed for testing denser networks.

CHAPTER 3 SENSOR NODE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

3.1 Overview

The design presented here is a solar-powered stochastic sensor node (SSN). At a high level, such a node consists of a power supply, sensor transducers, wireless communication hardware, and control logic. Figure 3.1 shows a block diagram of these high-level blocks. This chapter presents each of these units in terms of its constituent parts. The parts chosen for this particular design are discussed with suggestions for possible replacements.

3.2

Power Conversion

Scavenging power from the environment and converting it into usable energy proved to be fairly dicult. The voltage must be converted to a standard logic voltage level, and the current is often too small to be directly used. Energy must be stored until a

Figure 3.1 Solar stochastic sensor node block diagram.

Figure 3.2 Conceptual solar cell IV curve.

sucient amount is available to run the sensor node circuit. Then, the power supply must convert the stored energy to a usable voltage and current.

3.2.1

Circuit overview

Scavenging power via solar panels proved to be a dicult task. For example, an inexpensive thin lm solar panel produced about 2.5 mW/cm2 in full sun, but only about 15 W/cm2 indoors under ourescent lighting. Also, its operating voltage dropped from 3 V outdoors to around 1 V indoors. Thus, any usable power circuitry must eciently store energy with a wide range of input voltages and currents. A conceptual IV curve for a solar cell is shown in Figure 3.2. At some point on the curve with voltage Vm and current Im , the solar cell produces maximum power Pm . Ohms law gives the load resistance necessary to operate at this maximum power point. Circuits driven by the solar cell should present this resistance to the solar cell so that power is not wasted. A more detailed discussion of solar cell operation can be found in Appendix A. The initial power circuit design was suggested by a solar battery charge circuit [21]. Figure 3.3 shows a simplied version. This circuit uses the capacitor to keep the solar panel operating at near its maximum power point for high eciency. A comparator 9

Figure 3.3 Solar battery charger circuit.

constantly monitors the capacitor voltage, comparing it to a reference voltage Vref . When the capacitor voltage reaches Vref , the comparator enables a DC-DC boost converter that produces the battery charging voltage. Due to hysteresis, the comparator turns o the boost converter when the capacitor voltage has dropped to some minimum voltage. Additional circuitry not shown in the gure monitors the battery voltage and adjusts the DC-DC converter output voltage for proper charging. The comparator relies on the battery to provide its supply voltage. Since most comparators do not guarantee proper operation with an inadequate supply voltage, the circuit may have strange behavior if the batterys voltage drops too low. For example, if the DCDC converter can operate at a lower voltage than the comparator, it might erroneously turn on before the comparator is producing a valid output. Therefore, a battery, at least partially charged, is an essential component of the circuit. If the battery were allowed to discharge to a voltage below the comparators minimum operating voltage, the circuit would not necessarily be able to recharge it. The SSN power supply circuit is conceptually similar to this battery charger. In the SSN, a comparator enables the DC-DC converter to power the logic when the reservoir capacitor reaches a voltage near Vm , the maximum power voltage. Instead of using a rechargeable battery, however, the SSN uses a nonrechargeable lithium coin cell, which has much higher energy density. Also, instead of using a discrete comparator, the SSN monitors the capacitor voltage in software using the microcontrollers analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a programmable threshold. Because the SSN has full control over

10

Figure 3.4 Power supply circuit schematic.

the power supply in software, more exotic power management schemes than simple thresholding could be implemented without changing the hardware. The addition of a nonrechargeable battery does limit the operational lifetime of the SSN. Because the circuit was designed for low power consumption, however, a standard CS2032 coin cell can easily power the circuit in its inactive mode for several years.

3.2.2

Circuit implementation

Figure 3.4 shows the SSN power supply circuit. The boost converter is U3, a Maxim MAX1675. It creates a higher voltage than its input by switching current on and o through inductor L1, then ltering the resulting voltage spikes. When used as congured for the SSN, it boasts eciency near 90%. The inductor L1 is a Murata LQH4N220, chosen primarily for its small size, and the capacitor C2 is a Sprague 593D476X0010C2T, chosen for its low series resistance. Diodes D1D3 are Vishay SD103AW Schottky diodes. This specic part was selected mainly for its low forward voltage drop. Connection of the boost converters feedback (FB) pin to the output voltage pin selects its 3.3-V output mode. When in shutdown mode, which the microcontroller selects through U3s SHDN pin, the DC-DC converters output voltage is slightly below the input voltage applied to the inductor connection (LX) pin. Also, the boost converter has no overvoltage regulation. When not in shutdown mode, if its input voltage is higher than 3.3 V, the output voltage will follow the input voltage. 11

Because changing light levels will drop the solar cell voltage, diode D1 protects it from capacitor discharge currents. Diodes D2 and D3 select between the DC-DC converter and battery B1 to power the sensor node logic. When B1, a 3-V lithium coin cell, has a higher voltage than the boost converter output, diode D3 will be forward biased and D2 reverse biased, and the battery will power the circuit. Because the DC-DC converters output voltage of 3.3 V is higher than the batterys, the opposite occurs when it is enabled. Using this scheme, the circuit can run from the battery in inactive mode, then enable the boost converter during its active cycle.

3.2.3

Reservoir capacitor selection

The reservoir capacitor serves the dual purpose of storing scavenged energy and allowing the solar panel to run close to its maximum power point. A larger capacitance value allows more charge to be stored at a given voltage level. This means that the circuit can be run for longer within a voltage range near Vm , increasing power scavenging eciency. A smaller capacitance value, however, allows for a physically smaller and cheaper capacitor. Smaller values also decrease the initial charge time to reach the turn-on threshold voltage. The reservoir capacitor chosen must balance the total size of the sensor against the power conversion eciency. Double layer capacitors, available in values from 0.1 F to 100 F, were initially tested for the circuit. They are extremely compact and seemed ideal for the application. However, the high equivalent series resistances (ESR) of these parts meant that a higher turn-on threshold would be needed to compensate for the voltage drop in the capacitor itself. For example, the peak load current in a stochastic sensor node is about 20 mA. A double layer capacitor with an ESR of 30 charged to 2 V will output at most 1.4 V for this current due to the voltage drop across this equivalent series resistor. Also, ESR increases throughout the lifetime of the capacitor, so low ESR is even more important for sensors with long operational lifetimes. The SSN instead uses aerogel supercapacitors, which are larger than their double layer equivalents but have much lower ESR. A Cooper Bussman PA-5R0V474 aerogel supercapacitor rated at 5 V and 0.47 F occupies about 4.7 cm3 . Its ESR, measured at

12

Figure 3.5 Aerogel, left, and double layer, right, 0.47-F supercapacitors.

1 kHz, is 0.20 . On the other hand, a Panasonic EEC-F5R5U474 electric double layer capacitor rated at 5.5 V and 0.47 F occupies only about 2.9 cm3 . Its ESR, also measured at 1 kHz, is 30 . Figure 3.5 shows the two capacitors side by side.

3.3

Energy Source

Several sources of ambient energy could be used for the SSN energy source. Vibrational energy [10], acoustic energy, and thermal energy could all be used, but none provides as much energy in the same amount of space as a solar panel. Solar panels also are available cheaply from standard electronics distributors. These advantages made them the logical choice for powering the SSN.

3.3.1

Solar panel selection

Several dierent types of panels were evaluated for relative performance in varying lighting conditions. Figure 3.6 shows four of these. Two of the panels, (a) and (b), were thin-lm amorphous silicon panels produced by Iowa Thin Film Technologies. The rst, an SP3-37, is rated for operation at 3 V and 22 mA in full sunlight, and it measures 1.5 2.5 in. The second, a TX3-25, is rated for operation at 3 V and 25 mA in full sunlight, and it measures 1 4.5 in. The third, shown in (c), was a generic silicon solar module, probably monocrystalline, purchased from Edumund Scientics. It measures 1 1.8 in and is rated for operation at 3 V and 20 mA in full sunlight. Finally, a

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 3.6 Four solar panels: (a) 3-V, 22-mA module; (b) 3-V, 25-mA module; (c) 3-V, 20-mA module; and (d) CuInSe2 module.

laboratory sample copper indium diselenide (CuInSe2 ) panel, measuring 4 4 in, was tested. Its expected operating voltage and current were not known. In an outdoor setting with bright sunlight, even small solar panels can provide the necessary voltage and current to operate a sensor node. In indoor lighting, however, power output drops to a fraction of the outdoor value. Both the operating current and voltage fall to nearly unusable levels. A particularly troublesome problem was that, in indoor lighting, supposedly identical panels produced very dierent output voltages. Five of the SP3-37 and TX3-25 panels and three of the generic modules were tested in indoor uorescent light at three levels. The results are shown in Table 3.1. While the short-circuit current remained approximately equal for dierent samples of each type of panel, the open-circuit voltage varied greatly between otherwise identical thin-lm panels. The manufacturer of the thin-lm cells indicated that this was due to parasitic eects within the panels. Some cells in the third generic solar panel were cracked, causing a lower output voltage than expected. Because of these problems, the panels used should each be validated for output voltage with the lighting in which they will be used. Another useful quantity is the power production per unit area for each panel. The values for the SP3-37, TX3-25, and generic modules were averaged over all the panels

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Table 3.1 Low-light performance for identically rated solar panels. SP3-37 Panel High light Medium light Low light VOC (V) ISC (A) VOC (V) ISC (A) VOC (V) ISC (A) 1 2.74 152 2.24 94 1.79 59 2 1.93 155 1.53 96 1.21 61 3 1.74 150 1.28 93 0.94 59 4 1.25 149 0.88 92 0.65 57 5 1.03 145 0.74 89 0.54 57 TX3-25 1 2.31 168 1.81 103 1.40 65 2 2.06 167 1.63 100 1.31 68 3 1.90 182 1.62 116 1.32 73 4 1.60 161 1.16 100 0.78 62 5 1.03 164 0.64 101 0.45 69 Generic 3 V, 20 mA 1 1.23 38 1.09 25 0.88 14 2 1.20 37 1.01 23 0.88 15 3 0.90 38 0.74 23 0.59 15

tested, while only one CuInSe2 panel was tested. As before, power production was measured inside the lab under ourescent lighting at three dierent intensity levels. Table 3.2 shows the results. While the CuInSe2 panel performs the best, this may be because it was a highquality laboratory sample. Unfortunately, no low volume supplier could be found for these panels. Because the thin-lm solar cells could be obtained for half the price of the generic monocrystalline modules while producing much more power indoors, these were selected for the SSN. The SP3-37 was chosen because it t onto one side of the sensor node circuit board. The problem of low-light voltage drops could be solved by using a panel with a higher open-circuit voltage in full light. However, since the radio module will not operate at a supply voltage higher than 4 V, the power supply must ensure that its output voltage cannot go any higher. This might be accomplished with a buck-boost converter or integrated boost converter and linear regulator such as the Maxim MAX1672.

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Table 3.2 Solar panel power production per unit area. Panel High light Voltage (V) Current (A) Power/area (W/cm2 ) Generic 1.13 37.9 10.7 SP3-37 1.74 150.2 10.8 TX3-25 1.78 168 10.3 CuInSe2 2.83 297 16.2 Panel Medium light Voltage (V) Current (A) Power/area (W/cm2 ) Generic 0.95 23.7 5.6 SP3-37 1.34 95.5 5.1 TX3-25 1.37 103.9 4.9 CuInSe2 2.55 180.9 8.9 Panel Low light Voltage (V) Current (A) Power/area (W/cm2 ) Generic 0.78 14.8 2.9 SP3-37 1.03 58.6 2.5 TX3-25 1.06 66.5 2.4 CuInSe2 2.26 118.9 5.2

3.3.2

Alternate power sources

The SSN power supply is not limited to solar panels. Power sources delivering between 1 and 4 V at low currents can be connected in place of the solar panel. Depending on the power source, the turn-on threshold voltage and reservoir capacitor size may need to be adjusted. A battery could also be used if the large reservoir capacitor were removed.

3.4

Transducers

The microcontroller chosen for the SSN has a built-in ADC and several standard digital interfaces. Using these, it could conceivably support many dierent types of transducers. Because the prototype was intended to be used for monitoring activity in a building, a sound-level transducer was chosen for the test sensor. The SSN is solar powered, so it can also use the solar panel to measure the relative light level.

16

Figure 3.7 Sound-level detector.

3.4.1

Sound-level transducer

The SSN includes a simple sound-level sensor for testing. This circuit, shown in Figure 3.7, uses an electret microphone and a high-gain operational amplier. The microcontroller samples the amplied output with its integrated ADC. The amplier chosen, a Texas Instruments TLV2460, uses only 500 A of current when enabled. Resistors R9 and R4 congure the amplier for a gain of 1000. Because the gainbandwidth product of the TLV2460 is specied at 5.2 MHz for a supply voltage of 3 V, this places the 3-dB frequency of the amplier at 5.2 kHz. Frequencies above this will be signicantly attenuated. Because this depends on the low-pass characteristic of the amplier which may vary from chip to chip, it is not guaranteed to be a reliable antialiasing lter. If it is desired to perform digital signal processing on a sampled waveform, an antialiasing lter should be explicitly designed for this purpose. This simple high-gain amplier design is intended to be used primarily for detecting sound level.

3.4.2

Light level detection

The solar panel output can be used to roughly determine the light level. Since the short circuit current is roughly proportional to the brightness of the incident light, the

17

microcontroller can monitor the rate of change of the reservoir capacitor voltage to determine the relative amount of light present. The solar panel output current depends on a variety of factors such as the spectral composition of the light, the panel voltage, and the ambient temperature. Therefore, this method will only be accurate for measuring relative light levels when all sensors are in similar light at the same temperature.

3.4.3

Other sensors

The SSN provides support for additional sensors via an expansion header. The use of this connector is discussed in detail in Chapter 4. Typically sensors that might be connected this way include temperature, humidity, acceleration, and many other types.

3.5

Wireless Communication

Recent developments in low-power radio communications have produced several competing wireless communications standards. For example, 802.11a/b/g wireless networks have become fairly common. They provide high data rates of up to 54 Mb/s and ranges up to 100 m. Unfortunately, chipsets supporting this standard also have fairly high power requirements. Other alternatives, such as Bluetooth and ZigBee, use much less power than 802.11a/b/g but still require more than the SSN is expected to provide. For example, one ZigBee-ready chipset, the EM2420, uses about 30 mW when transmitting or receiving [22]. The SSN required a radio designed for much lower power consumption than any of these could oer.

3.5.1

Radio module

Each sensor node includes a radio module for communicating with other nodes. The radio is typically the largest power user in the system, so power trade-os must be considered when choosing a transceiver. For example, the radio module will have some static power consumption, which is independent of the bandwidth. An increase in bandwidth will decrease the time to transmit a message. If the radio has a low-power sleep mode, shorter message transmit times allow the radio to spend more time asleep, reducing static

18

power requirements. In the SSN, the microcontroller on the receiver must constantly run at a higher speed than the radio bit period to perform baseband data decoding. Because the receiver will spend most of its time performing this task, reducing the power used in this state may be more benecial than saving transmit power. Also, an increased bitrate lowers the radio range for a given transmit power. The radio used in the SSN is an RF Monolithics TR1004 914-MHz transceiver, which is pin compatible with the 916.5-MHz TR1000 module. This was chosen primarily for its low power consumption, which is typically about 10 mW in receive mode and 40 mW in transmit mode. Unfortunately, it provides only a bit-level interface without any timing information, so clock recovery must be performed by a microcontroller instead. Other radio modules which provide higher-level interfaces, such as the Chipcon CC1000, typically use more power than the microcontroller and TR1004 combined. This transceiver also has a low power sleep mode, consuming only about 2 W of power. Because it can enter and exit this mode in a fraction of a bit period, power can possibly be saved by putting the chip to sleep between received bits during start symbol detection, but experimentation has shown that this tends to increase the error rate. The SSN operates the transceiver at 19 200 Bd in on-o keying (OOK) mode. Though the transceiver can operate at diernent bitrates and in amplitude shift keying (ASK) mode, passive components in the circuit were selected specicially for Manchester-encoded data at 19 200 Bd. Operation at other baud rates or in the ASK mode is not possible without modifying the circuit. The radio circuit, adapted from the TR1004 data sheet [11], is shown in Figure 3.8. Though relatively slow, 19 200 Bd was chosen primarily to make it simple for the microcontroller to perform start-symbol detection. At the start of each data packet, the transmitting node sends a training preamble of alternating zeros and ones to calibrate the DC blocking capacitor, followed by a 20-bit start symbol. While it is waiting for this start symbol, the receiving node must constantly sample the incoming data so that it can synchronize its serial port with the transmitter. A slower bitrate allows the receiver to operate at a lower clock speed, saving power. Transmit power can be decreased by replacing RT XM with a larger resistance. More information about specic values is available in the TR1004 data sheet.

19

Figure 3.8 Radio transceiver circuit.

3.5.2

Antenna considerations

Antenna selection is fairly important for radio performance. A wire cut to a length of one quarter wavelength, known as a whip, placed perpendicularly over a ground plane, provides acceptable performance at a low cost. Such antennas are omnidirectional in the plane perpendicular to the antenna wire. Attenuation will occur, however, out of this plane, including a null directly above the antenna. This makes quarter-wave antennas appropriate only when all of the sensors are close to coplanar. Antenna polarization will also aect transceiver performance. If nodes with whip antennas are oriented such that the antennas are perpendicular to each other, the polarizations will not match and the received signal will be heavily attenuated. At 914 MHz, one quarter wavelength is approximately 8.2 cm. If a smaller antenna is required, compact helical coil and chip antennas are available, but these generally have lower gain than the quarter-wave antennas and can be more sensitive to ground-plane design. Antennas can also be etched directly onto the edge of a circuit board, but these require careful design and testing with a network analyzer [23]. 20

A small helical antenna, the Linx Technologies JJB-RA, was selected for the SSN because of its small size. If desired, it could easily be replaced with a quarter-wave whip.

3.6 3.6.1

Control Logic Microcontroller

A microcontroller controls the operation of the entire sensor node. Among its many tasks, it must be programmed to wake the rest of the sensors circuits when it decides to enter the active mode. It must take readings from all available transducers and decide whether it is necessary to send a message with these readings in it. Also, the microcontroller needs to monitor incoming messages and handle them as appropriate. A PIC18LF4320 microcontroller was chosen to control the SSN. Though it only has 4096 words of program ROM and 512 bytes of RAM, the simplicity of the stochastic sensor node design means that this is far more than sucient. One of its key features is an internal 8-MHz oscillator with a programmable divider. Besides reducing external parts requirements, this allows the microcontroller to scale its clock frequency to match the current task, lowering power usage. Transducers can be connected directly to the internal 10-bit ADC. A standard PIC18F4320 does not have guaranteed operation when the supply voltage is less than 4.2 V, so a slightly more expensive PIC18LF4320 was used. The PIC18LF4320 could easily be replaced with other microcontrollers if they have an internal ADC and comparable speed with a 3 V power supply.

3.7

Timekeeping

The microcontroller needs a way to determine relative time so it can label its messages with time information. This task is given to the real-time clock module. The SSN uses an Epson RTC-4574 real-time clock (RTC) module with a built-in 32.768-kHz crystal oscillator. Besides keeping time, the RTC also has a programmable interval interrupt that can be used to wake the microcontroller instead of using its less exible watchdog timer. Also, the RTC can be programmed to output square waves at a

21

given frequency, and this can be used to calibrate the microcontrollers internal oscillator. Finally, the quiescent current used by this RTC is typically less than 1 A. This part could easily be replaced with another low-power RTC. Also, a real-time clock could be implemented in software in the microcontroller, deriving its frequency either from an external crystal oscillator or the less accurate internal oscillator. The power consumption for a software RTC would be roughly equivalent to the hardware version. The software-based approach was not used here so the SSN software could be kept simpler.

22

CHAPTER 4 SENSOR NODE OPERATION

4.1 Introduction

While the previous chapter focused on the design issues considered while building the SSN, this chapter gives a detailed look at the nodes operation. First, the hardware platform as a whole is discussed. This is followed by an explanation of the SSN software. Finally, a circuit for debugging the nodes is described.

4.2 4.2.1

Hardware Hardware overview

Figure 4.1 shows the full schematic for the SSN. The microcontroller, U1, controls the rest of the circuit. The microcontrollers internal oscillator, which operates at several frequencies from 31.25 kHz to 8 MHz, provides the clock signal.

4.2.2

Expansion connector

The nodes provide a 25-pin expansion connector for connecting additional sensor boards. Connected to unused microcontroller pins, it provides up to 13 digital I/O channels, 3 of which can also be used as analog input channels. Two of the pins can directly cause interrupts on changes. Both interintegrated circuit (I2 C) and serial peripheral interface (SPI) communications channels are available, though not simulateously. Pulse width modulated (PWM) inputs and outputs can be handled with two capture/compare/PWM (CCP) pins.

23

24 Figure 4.1 Stochastic sensor node schematic.

Figure 4.2 Expansion header pinout.

Figure 4.2 shows the pinout of the expansion connector. The pin names correspond to those in the PIC18LF4320 data sheet [24]. The PIC, as well as most other microcontrollers, has I/O pins designed for high current drive. A single pin can in most cases source or sink 25 mA. This means that the microcontroller can directly power sensors and other circuitry with a digital output set high, then turn them o by driving the pin low. Using this technique, even circuits without sleep modes can be operated at low duty cycles. However, some chips have long startup times that make this technique less useful, since the microcontroller must power the chip for milliseconds before measurements can be taken. Such chips should be avoided unless they provide a low-power sleep mode with a much faster startup time. The DF9-25P-1V connector used provides only 7 mm of clearance between the two circuit boards. To avoid problems, all parts should be mounted on the top of the expansion board.

25

Figure 4.3 In-circuit serial programming header pinout.

4.2.3

Reprogramming the nodes

A 10-pin programming header, J1 in the schematic, is provided for in-circuit programming of the PIC microcontroller. When the sensor is operational, shunts are placed across the pins to connect the PIC to the rest of the circuit. For programming, the shunts are removed and a programming cable is attached. Figure 4.3 shows the pinout for this connector, chosen to correspond to the in-circuit programming cable of the EPIC Plus PIC programmer made by microEngineering Labs. With an appropriate adapter cable, it should be compatible with other programmers which support in-circuit programming.

4.2.4

Prototype circuit boards

Several SSN prototypes have been built. Figure 4.4 shows the front and back of an SSN. Each is 2.5 2.5 in, though future iterations could be made much smaller with some optimization. An SP3-37 thin-lm solar panel can be axed to the back side of the board. Each costs about $75 when purchased in quantities of 25.

4.3

Software

The initial sensor node software has been written entirely in assembly language. This design decision was made due to the authors familiarity with PIC assembly as well as the need for low overhead in many code sections. The use of tightly optimized assembly language in critical loops allows for the use of low operating frequencies, saving power. 26

(a)

(b)

Figure 4.4 Stochastic sensor node prototype: (a) front side, and (b) rear side.

The code is also extremely compacta recent build used less than 400 words of the microcontrollers program memory. Several vendors sell C compilers for the Microchip PIC platform, so it would be entirely possible to rewrite noncritical sections of the code in C for future maintainability. The program ow is straightforward. Figure 4.5 shows a owchart of its operation. To initialize, the microcontroller turns o all unneccessary peripherals to save power. It also puts all unused I/O pins into output mode for additional power savings. After initialization, the sensor puts itself into the inactive mode to charge the reservoir capacitor. This is accomplished by turning o the internal oscillator and programming the real-time clock to periodically wake the processor. When awoken, the microcontroller checks the capacitor voltage to determine whether it has enough power to enter the active mode. If it does, it can either wake up into active mode unconditionally or based on the wake probability PW . Probabilistic wake-up is useful for ensuring independence between nodes when they are powered from a constant power source such as batteries. Once in the active mode, it enables the microphone and listens for acoustic events. If one is found, it creates a new message packet and stores it in the message buer. It then waits in receive mode for incoming packets for a set time period. Packets addressed to it are handled, and all other packets are queued for rebroadcast. Finally, it sends all packets in the message queue and returns to the inactive mode to recharge.

27

Figure 4.5 Software operation owchart.

28

The microcontroller uses its hardware serial port to send and receive data through the radio transceiver. Each outgoing byte is split into two 4-bit nybbles which are then Manchester encoded and sent via the serial port. The encoding provides DC balance, which is required for proper transceiver operation. Because the serial port hardware adds a start and stop bit to every byte sent, this means that every 8 bits of information are encoded as 20 bits for transmission.

4.4

Design Evaluation

Preliminary testing with the SSN prototype has shown encouraging results. The average power consumption of a node was measured as it performed several common tasks. The experimental setup consisted of simply a multimeter connected in series with the SSN. A variable power supply, adjusted to 3.3 V, was connected directly to the VCC rail. The tests were performed on a node without a real-time clock installed, but its negligible power consumption should not have much of an eect. A program was written to cycle between several common circuit tasks when a button was pressed. The rst, sleep mode, put the microcontroller and radio transceiver into their low-power sleep modes. This mode consumed only 0.8 A of current, for a total power consumption of 2.6 W. Second, the current consumption of analog-to-digital conversions was tested. The microcontroller enabled its ADC and constantly sampled from it while running at 31.25 kHz. This required 120 A of current, for a total power consumption of 400 W. Next, receive mode was tested. In this mode, the microcontroller put the radio transceiver into its receive mode, then sets its own oscillator to 1 MHz and performed a start-symbol detection loop. This mode consumed 3.3 mA of current, for a total power consumption of 10.9 mW. Finally, transmission mode was tested. To transmit, the microcontroller placed the radio transceiver into OOK transmit mode, then enabled its onboard serial port and transmitted DC-balanced data. While transmitting, the microcontroller operated at a clock speed of 4 MHz. This was tested for two transmit power levels. The rst, using an 8.2-k resistor for RT XM , required 4.2 mA of current, for a total power consumption of 13.9 mW. The second, using a 4.7-k resistor for RT XM , required 5.9 mA of current, for a total power consumption of 19.5 mW.

29

These numbers align closely with expectations. The sleep mode currents are negligible, and will allow operation from a lithium coin cell battery for years. Analog-to-digital conversion requires much more current, but still not very much. Since only about 20 s are required to capture a sample, this power consumption is not a large problem. Transmit and receive mode currents are closely aligned with the numbers in the TR1004 data sheet [11]. Though the measured transmit current is about half the typical value in the data sheet, this is easily explained. Because DC-balanced data are being transmitted, the radio transmits nothing exactly half of the time, leaving an average current of half the maximum. These numbers give some idea of the expected duty cycle of the nodes. Transmitting a 20-byte packet of information (Manchester encoded with start and stop bits at 19 200 Bd) would require 20.8 ms. If a node listens for nine times that length of time, or 188 ms, the total energy used during the active period is (20.8 ms)(19.5 mW) + (188 ms)(10.9 mW) = 2460 J (4.1)

If the sensor is to have a duty cycle of 5%, for a total period of 4.18 s, the solar panel must provide 589 W of power. The actual number will be slightly higher since the microcontroller spends a small amount of energy checking sensors at the beginning of the active period and handling received packets. Other informal testing has been performed with prototype sensor nodes built on solderless breadboards. A small network of three prototype nodes was developed, with one transmitter, one relay, and one receiver node. The transmitter was placed near a light and programmed to wake up from its inactive mode at a threshold capacitor voltage in order to send a single packet. The packet contained a packet count which was incremented every time the transmitter node entered the active mode. The relay and receiver were both powered from laboratory power supplies and remained in the active mode. When it received a message, the relay would resend the message to the receiver node. This testing veried that this design had the functionality to be a stochastic sensor node. Testing on the actual SSN hardware was not complete at the time of this writing.

30

Figure 4.6 Schematic of debugging circuit.

4.5

Base Station and Debugging Circuit

In the interests of power consumption and size, limited debugging capabilities are built onto the SSN circuit board. Jumpers JP6 and JP7, when not shunted, are used to test the battery and boost-converter output currents, respectively. The radio must be tested by programming the microcontroller with a test program and monitoring received packets on a base station. A reset switch can be added via the reprogramming header J1 by connecting pins 2 and 10 through a normally open momentary switch. For more thorough testing, or for conversion of a regular node into a base station, a debugging circuit can be connected to the expansion header. This circuit provides a standard RS-232 serial interface for connection to a PC. It also has several switches and LEDs useful for modifying and monitoring the processor state. Figure 4.6 shows a schematic of the debugging circuit. A microcontroller, U1, is connected to an external computer through the RS-232 serial port, CONN2, and to the SSNs microcontroller through a standard I2 C bus. The program on the microcontroller simply translates data between the two busses so the

31

SSN can relay information to a PC. Switch S1 resets the debug microcontroller, while S2 and S3 are connected to input ports on the SSN microcontroller. These particular input lines can be congured to generate interrupts. Diodes D1D8 are LEDs which can be programmed to display status information. The debug board provides its own independent power source from a 9-V wall DC power supply. A standard 7805 voltage regulator, U5, generates the 5 V needed for the logic, while U4, a 3.3-V voltage regulator, generates the voltage necessary for interfacing with the SSN. An I2 C level shifter uses two NMOS transistors, Q1 and Q2, to convert the bidirectional logic lines between the two dierent logic voltages. These specic NMOS transistors were chosen for their low threshold voltages. Jumper J1, when connected, allows the SSN to be powered from the debug board. When this jumper is left unconnected, the debug board can be used to verify energy scavenging operation.

32

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS
5.1 Conclusion

In the absence of plentiful or reliable power, stochastic wireless sensor networks oer a viable alternative to routed networks. The ability to support self-powered nodes provides great advantages where nodes cannot easily be serviced. Stochastic sensor nodes can be built relatively cheaply using o-the-shelf parts. Existing electronics are power-ecient enough to support the use of low-quality commodity solar cells. The software to control the sensor nodes is small and simple enough to t into an inexpensive microcontroller with much room to spare. Many applications could use this technology. Solar-powered sensors could be deployed in outdoor environments where it would be dicult or impossible to change batteries but long-term operation is required. Using stochastic sensor network design techniques would allow robust network operation even in situations where very little ambient energy is available for scavenging.

5.2

Future Work

While the stochastic sensor node works, much more can be done. The current design is large and expensive. Software functionality is still very basic. The solar panels are far too large and inecient. Future design iterations could easily shrink the sensor to half its current size or less. Because the nodes were assembled by hand, many parts were chosen to be easily soldered, making them take up much more space than otherwise necessary. The microcontroller was chosen to make development easier. A smaller, less capable chip, however, could easily be 33

substituted. The circuit board layout is suboptimal, and great size improvement could be had simply by optimizing this better. The software needs much improvement. As of the time of this writing, it barely provides basic packet forwarding abilities. While the node is unsuited to relatively heavyweight sensor operating systems such as TinyOS [8], a richer development environment could facilitate application design. The solar panels selected, while adequate for the large prototype, should be replaced with smaller monocrystalline silicon panels. These provide higher eciencies than the thin lm panels chosen for the SSN. However, they are dicult to obtain cut to size in small quantities. Alternatively, other power sources, such as vibrational or thermal energy, may be utilized. Beyond these suggestions, the sensor could be more radically redesigned as new hardware becomes available. Low-power processors are being developed specically for use in sensor networks, signicantly reducing the energy required to execute an instruction [25]. As new radio technologies become commercially available, these can also be incorporated into the design. Alternatively, a low power, low overhead radio could be designed specically for this type of node. Another interesting topic is the issue of network sensing coverage and reliability. Because nodes are only on some percentage of the time, it may be possible to bound the probability of sensing an event within some neighborhood based on the awake sensor density. Work focused on insuring sensing coverage in networks of unreliable sensor nodes [26] seems directly applicable to the stochastic network. Network reliability could possibly be characterized using such a method.

34

APPENDIX A SOLAR CELL DISCUSSION

Understanding how solar cells work is important for designing a sensor node which relies on them for power. This appendix summarizes solar-cell operation and applies it to the SSN power-supply design. Solar cells utilize the phenomenon of optical carrier generation at a semiconductor p-n junction [27]. Photons with energy greater than the band gap energy generate electron-hole pairs. Some of these diuse across the junction and create a net current Iph proportional to the junction area, electron and hole diusion lengths, and the optical generation rate. This current ows from the p-side to the n-side, opposite of the normal diode current ID which is also present. From the diode equation ID = IS e
qVD kT

(A.1)

where IS is the saturation current, q is the charge of an electron, k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the junction temperature, and VD is the junction voltage. Thus, the total current through the solar panel is I = ID Iph (A.2)

In the SSN, a reservoir capacitor with capacitance C is connected across the output of the solar cell. Including this capacitor and the series resistance of the leads, this produces the equivalent circuit of Figure A.1. Ignoring the capacitor, when the outputs are connected together, the short-circuit current is approximately Iph . A little algebra

35

Figure A.1 Solar cell equivalent circuit.

shows that the open-circuit voltage VOC is VOC = kT Iph +1 q IS (A.3)

If the voltage across the capacitor is VC and the current through it is I , the charging characteristic of the circuit can be determined. While it is dicult to solve for VC , some insight can still be obtained. Summing the currents produces ID = Iph I Substituting from Equation (A.1) produces IS e
qVD kT

(A.4)

1 = Iph I

(A.5)

Also, using the equation for capacitor current, I=C dVC dt (A.6)

Combining these two equations and rearranging produces

qVD dVC 1 = Iph IS e kT 1 dt C

(A.7)

36

Noting that VC = VD IRS Substituting for I from Equation (A.5) and rearranging gives VC = VD RS IS e
qVD kT

(A.8)

1 Iph

(A.9)

Dierentiating both sides with respect to time,

qVD dV dVC dVD q C = RS IS e kT dt dt kT dt

(A.10)

Simplifying this gives

qVD dVD dVC q = RS IS e kT 1 dt dt kT

(A.11)

Finally, combining with Equation (A.7) and rearranging gives Iph IS e kT 1 dVD = qVD dt q C 1 kT RS IS e kT Finally, when ID Iph , this can be approximated as Iph dVD = dt C (A.13)
qVD

(A.12)

Since VD VC when RS is small, this shows a linear charging characteristic for the capacitor at voltages below the diode turnon voltage. As the diode turns on, the voltage on the capacitor suddenly begins increasing much more slowly since much of the photo current is being shunted through the diode. This is useful because parasitic eects in the solar panel, not modeled here, may decrease the open-circuit voltage of the panel in low light. Because of the extremely linear charging characteristic which abruptly attens as the diode turns on, the sensor can detect when it has approached the open-circuit voltage and adjust its turn-on threshold accordingly. This allows the sensor to operate closer to the maximum power point of the solar cell in any light condition.

37

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