Convertisseurs DC-DC piézoélectrique avec stockage provisoire d’énergie sous forme mécanique

The increasing demand for power convertors in various application fields implies specific constraints and specific technological solutions. In this context, working with piezoelectric material constitutes an excellent alternative of classical inductor-based converter. Indeed, these materials enable a high-power density, thin and planar geometry and can be integrated on silicon more easily than popular wire-wound magnetic components. A new kind of piezoelectric inductorless converter, in which the piezoelectric material acts as an energy storage element, is presented. At each resonant period, the piezoelectric resonator takes energy from the input source, stores it temporarily and releases it to the load (and therefore enabling the power conversion). Soft switching is assured to maintain very high efficiencies for high frequencies. A first topology (chapter 2 and 3) in which those principles are applied is introduced. An analytical model which integrates the mechanical losses and a simulation model are developed enabling a good understanding of the converter behavior. The concept is experimentally validated and very high efficiency conversions (up to 98 %) are achieved for a large range of output power (from mW to 1.8 W) and for different output gains. The study of five different-size piezoelectric resonators enables to understand the impact of geometric parameters of the resonator on the converter performances and therefore to propose a resonator design methodology. More complex topologies are also described (chapter 4) and a discussion on improvement possibilities and perspectives to have a complete and industrialized converter concludes the thesis.