MEMS-based Vibration Energy Harvesters Research Articles

WITHDRAWN: A review on mems based vibration energy harvester cantilever geometry (2015–2020)

Abstract The paper focusses selected significant works carried out in the area of vibration energy harvesting. Micro electromechanical systems, generally referred as MEMS, are established using integrated technology on micro scale. They are a mixture of electrical, electronics and mechanical elements. MEMS finds application in extensive areas but its applications in vibration energy harvesting are most popular. The paper emphasises on the various cantilever geometries for vibration energy harvesting reported in literature for the past five years. In particular the progress made by the researchers with respect to cantilever geometry are reviewed.

Analytical modelling of spiral cantilever structure for vibration energy harvesting applications

Research on harvesting energy from natural resources is more focused as it can make microelectronic devices self-powered. MEMS based vibration energy harvesters are gaining its popularity in recent days to extract energy from vibrating objects and to use that energy to power the sensors. A solution for the major constrain for vibration energy harvesting in micro scale has been addressed in this paper. Cantilever beams coated with piezoelectric materials which are optimized to resonate at the source vibration frequency are used in most of the traditional vibration energy harvesting applications. In micro scale such structures have very high natural frequency compared to the ambient vibration frequencies due to which frequency matching is a constrain. Tip mass at the end of the cantilever reduces the resonant frequency to a great extent but adds to complexity and fabrication difficulties. Here, we propose a spiral geometry for micro harvester structures with low fundamental frequencies compared to traditional cantilevers. The spiral geometry is proposed, simulated and analyzed, to show that such a structure would be able to vibrate near resonance at micro scale. The analysis consists of Modal analysis, Mises stress analysis and displacement analysis in COMSOL Multiphysics. The result shows that the frequency has been reduced by a factor of 300 when compared to normal cantilever in the same volume. The work provides guideline for vibration energy harvesting structure design for an improved performance.

Improving voltage output with PZT beam array for MEMS-based vibration energy harvester: theory and experiment

Piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters as an autonomous power source for various types of sensors, actuators and MEMS devices have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Traditional MEMS-based PZT single beam vibration energy harvester has low voltage output (usually <1 V) which causes rectifier circuit to consume most of power or turn off in practical applications. In this paper, in order to improve the voltage output of MEMS-based PZT vibration energy harvester as well as ensure high power output, a PZT beam array configuration for MEMS-based vibration energy harvester is proposed. Based on Hamilton's principle and Euler---Bernoulli beam theory, mathematical model for the proposed vibration energy harvester is established. Two different dimensions MEMS-based PZT beam array vibration energy harvesters are designed and fabricated through micro-fabrication techniques. The performances of the two types of fabricated vibration energy harvesters are characterized and compared with traditional vibration energy harvester in experiment. Experimental results agree well with theoretical analysis, and the experimental results show that the better performance fabricated vibration energy harvester can generate 121.4 μW and 3.5 V respectively at 1 g acceleration.

Trends of MEMS-Based Vibration Energy Harvester

Micro vibration energy harvesters have received much attention due to their potential application of low power wireless sensor networks and embedded systems. This paper studies three mechanisms to scavenge the ambient vibration energy, discusses the power management circuit and the application of the converter, investigates the prospective development and ongoing challenges in MEMS-based vibration energy harvester.

Preliminary Performance Evaluation of MEMS-based Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters in Extended Temperature Range

Abstract In this work a batch of MEMS-based vibration energy harvesters consisting of a silicon/PZT thick film ntilever with integrated proof mass is characterized. The purpose of a vibration energy harvester is to convert low grade vibrations to useful electrical power. Optimally, the natural frequency of the harvester should match the frequency of he ambient vibration. The first step to achieve this is to evaluate the uniformity of the fabricated harvesters and nderstand the effects of temperature on the harvesters during operation. Therefore, the uniformity of 40 energy harvesters from one wafer has been evaluated. Thereafter the performance of the energy harvesters operating at emperatures between -30 °C to 100 °C was measured.