In this paper, harvesters coupling magnetostrictive and piezoelectric materials are investigated. The energy conversion of quasi-static magnetic field variations into electricity is detailed. Experimental results are exposed for two macroscopic demonstrators based on the rotation of a permanent magnet. These composite/hybrid devices use both piezoelectric and magnetostrictive (amorphous FeSiB ribbon or bulk Terfenol-D) materials. A quasi-static (or ultra-low frequency) harvester is constructed with exploitable output voltage, even in quasi-static mode. Integrated micro-harvesters using sub-micron multilayers of active materials on Si have been built and are currently being characterized.
An enhanced scheme for a functional bilayered composite material with shape memory effect has been successfully applied on the microscale to fabricate a thermally controlled microactuator. Fabrication of cantilever-type microactuators from melt spun ribbon of TiNiCu shape memory alloy included electro-chemical polishing followed by focused ion beam milling and ion-assisted chemical vapor deposition of Pt elastic layer. The smallest working microactuator had a volume of 0.9 µm3. The structure and thermal stability of the Pt layer have been investigated. The fabricated actuator has been proposed for use as micromechanical nanotweezers for manipulation of submicron- and nano-sized objects. Manipulation of a carbon nanotube bunch has been demonstrated.
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