In this paper, a micro piezoelectric energy harvester based on stainless steel substrate with dual oscillators is presented. The first mirco-dual oscillator design (Figure 6(a)) showed intense stress concentration at the corner of beam, which induced device failure on 0.5g. Therefore, an improved design with better durability by broadening the root of the beam is proposed, fabricated and verified. As we wished to keep the characteristic of low resonance frequencies, the improved device can scavenge energy at a resonance frequency of approximately 40.2Hz. In order to obtain a better output, the device was in d₃₁ mode, and fabricated on stainless-steel substrate. The stainless steel substrate provides superior robustness allowing the micro device to withstand harsher environments. A series of simulation and test is presented, and the performance of the device is demonstrated. The maximum output power of 0.25 g was 2.4μW with the resonance frequency of the device 40.2Hz.

Date Published: 10 April 2013
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 8688, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2013, 86880E (10 April 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2009443

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8688:
Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2013
Henry Sodano, Editor(s)