Comparison of the piezoelectric MEMS generators with interdigital electrodes and laminated electrodes

Abstract

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.

Analytical Modeling and Performance Study of a Piezoelectric Laminated Annular Plate for Rotary Energy Harvesting

“…Mechanism devices are required to apply impact or magnetic force on the cantilever array for excitation purpose. The installation of a limiter is also necessary to avoid the amplitude of the cantilever beam exceeding the piezoelectric ceramic's bearing range [15]. Therefore, this kind of rotary piezoelectric generator is relatively complicated which is a barrier to minimize the harvester.…”