Abstract
In the realm of MEMS piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters, cantilever-based designs are by far the most popular. Despite being deceptively simple, the active piezoelectric area near the clamped end is able to accumulate maximum strain-generated-electrical-charge, while the free end is able to accommodate a proof mass without compromising the effective area of the piezoelectric generator since it experiences minimal strain anyway. While other contending designs do exist, this paper investigates five micro-cantilever (MC) topologies, namely: a plain MC, a tapered MC, a lined MC, a holed MC and a coupled MC, in order to assess their relative performance as an energy harvester. Although a classical straight and plain MC offers the largest active piezoelectric area, alternative MC designs can potentially offer higher average mechanical strain distribution for a given mechanical loading. Numerical simulation and experimental comparison of these 5 MCs (0.5 μ AlN on 10 μm Si) with the same practical dimensions of 500 μm and 2000 μm, suggest a cantilever with a coupled subsidiary cantilever yield the best power performance, closely followed by the classical plain topology.
Highlights
Cantilever-based topologies are the incumbent design of choice within the field of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting (VEH), especially for MEMS harvesters [1]
While a number of different examples of micro-cantilever (MC) designs for MEMS piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters have been previously explored [1], the most popular design is based on the classical rectangular plain MC topology [2] with variations in design usually driven by process constraints rather than design objectives
This paper demonstrates that systematic modifications in the specific topology of piezoelectric MEMS cantilever energy harvesters can result in significant differences in the output power response
Summary
- Micromachined cantilevers-on-membrane topology for broadband vibration energy harvesting Yu Jia, Sijun Du and Ashwin A Seshia. - Experimental Validation of Damping Model for a MEMS Bistable Electrostatic Energy Harvester C H Nguyen, D S Nguyen and E Halvorsen
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