To power the tiny sensor devices by MEMS generator which scavenging energy from ambient vibrations is becoming practical due to the power consumption of low power electronics is going down to tens to hundreds µW for integrated wireless sensor devices. In this paper, we are going to present the development on two different types of piezoelectric MEMS generators that have the ability to scavenge mechanical energy of ambient vibrations and transform it into electrical energy. These two piezoelectric MEMS generators are both cantilever type made of silicon process and transform energy with thin PZT layer. However, the first one is with the interdigital electrodes on the top and the other one is with laminated electrodes sandwiched the PZT layer. The theoretical prediction and the process development for the two types of generators will all be presented; the evaluation and comparison of the two generators will also be detailed.
Recently, power harvesting technologies for low-power electronic devices have attracted much interest. In this paper, the design and fabrication methods of a micro-electrostatic power generator is presented. This power generator comprises a stator developed using an electret film for charge storage and a rotor covered by an interdigital electrode for electric power generation. The newly developed electret material is made from mixing two solutions. The first solution was made by blending polystyrene (PS) and cycloolefin copolymer (COC). The second solution was obtained by an additive process as polar molecule was added into COC. This unique two solution electret method can easily be integrated and adopted to the micro fabrication process. The charge storage capability of this new electret material was investigated and results showed that low concentration of polystyrene in the blended material will not only have more stable but also higher electrostatic charge than that of pure COC. In addition, the polar molecular additives also improve the electret properties of COC due to micro-cavities formation and the interactions between molecules and polymer. Our newly developed blended electret material has excellent mechanical properties and is easy to use when compared to using Teflon Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) and polypropylene (PP). A feasibility study of a micro electrostatic power generator based on our blended electret material was performed. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of this new type of micro electrostatic power generator.
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