This paper describes the measurement results of piezoelectric harvesters with AlN as piezoelectric material. The output power harvested from mechanical vibrations has been measured on micromachined harvesters with different geometries. The resonance frequencies ranged from 200 up to 1200 Hz. A maximum output power of 60 µW has been measured at an acceleration of 2.0 g at a resonance frequency of 571 Hz; the power output is of the same level as obtained with devices based on PZT. The package of the harvester requires special attention, since air-damping can significantly decrease the maximum power output.

This paper describes the characterization of thin-film MEMS vibration energy harvesters based on aluminum nitride as piezoelectric material. A record output power of 85 μW is measured. The parasitic-damping and the energy-harvesting performances of unpackaged and packaged devices are investigated. Vacuum and atmospheric pressure levels are considered for the packaged devices. When dealing with packaged devices, it is found that vacuum packaging is essential for maximizing the output power. Therefore, a wafer-scale vacuum package process is developed. The energy harvesters are used to power a small prototype (1 cm 3 volume) of a wireless autonomous sensor system. The average power consumption of the whole system is less than 10 μW, and it is continuously provided by the vibration energy harvester.

To improve the clinical outcome of total hip replacements (THRs), instrumented implants with sensory functions for implant monitoring and diagnostics or actuators for therapeutic measures are a promising approach. Therefore, an adequate energy source is needed. Batteries and external power supplies bring shortcomings e.g. limited lifetime or dependency on external equipment. Energy harvesting has the clear benefit of providing continuous and independent power for fully autonomous implants. Our present study evaluates by means of finite element analysis (FEA) the capabilities of a concept of a piezoelectric energy harvesting system (ring shaped multilayer piezoelectric element of 5 mm diameter and 2.5 mm height) integrated in a femoral hip stem. The deformations from a modified load-bearing implant are used to generate electric power for various instrumentation purposes. Besides the expected amount of converted energy, the influence on the stress distribution of the instrumented implant is analysed. The results show that the local stress increase for the modified implant geometry does not exceed the stress of the original reference model. The maximum generated open circuit voltage of 11.9 V can be processed in standard energy harvesting circuitry whereas an average power output amounts up to 8.1 µW. In order to increase the electric power in an upcoming design optimization, a sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the most important influencing parameters with regard to power output and implant safety.

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Vibrational piezoelectric harvesting devices (PHD) provide an autonomous power source for various types of sensors, actuators and MEMS devices. There have been several examples of vibrational energy harvesters published in the literature over the years. However, for many applications the generated power is not yet sufficient. In this paper, a physical model for predicting the generated electric power from piezoelectric harvesting devices is introduced. The model is based on estimating the total charge generated on a piezoelectric material when it is subjected to mechanical strain as a result of bending at the fundamental resonance frequency. Based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, the strain can be determined in terms of the beam deflection at purely mechanical excitation. The proposed model extends the current state of the art by consideration of the strain distribution due to the presence of an extended mass volume at the end of the beam. The constitutive equations of piezoelectricity in the sensing mode correlate the strain and the induced charge in the piezoelectric element. Using the device design parameters and the beam deflection as inputs, the power output can be calculated. The results of the model were experimentally verified for MEMS-based PHDs. The model was found to give an accurate prediction of the electrical parameters under various damping conditions. After model validation, a subsequent device optimization has been made to improve the power generation.