Improved Performances of Acoustic Energy Harvester Fabricated Using Sol/Gel Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Film

Abstract

Energy harvesters integrable on smart sensor systems have been strongly demanded. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) acoustic energy harvesters using the first resonance vibration of a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film as a diaphragm have recently been reported. Similar acoustic energy harvesters using the third resonance of a PZT diaphragm fabricated by sol/gel PZT thin film processes exhibited improved generated power density, and it was suggested that the PZT acoustic energy harvester might be suitable for use as a possible power source for silicon integrated circuits. We present further improved power generation performances of PZT MEMS acoustic energy harvesters fabricated by improved PZT capacitor fabrication processes. The PZT acoustic energy harvester with the diaphragm diameter of 1.2 mm fabricated by a sol/gel process generated an even higher energy density of 98 µW/m2 under the sound pressure level of 100 dB (0.01 W/m2) at 16.7 kHz.