This paper presents a fundamental investigation into scaling effects for the mechanical properties and electrical output power of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters. The mechanical properties investigated in this paper include resonant frequency of the harvester and its frequency tunability, which is essential for the harvester to operate efficiently under broadband excitations. Electrical output power studied includes cases when the harvester is excited under both constant vibration acceleration and constant vibration amplitude. The energy harvester analysed in this paper is based on a cantilever structure, which is typical of most vibration energy harvesters. Both detailed mathematical derivation and simulation are presented. Furthermore, various piezoelectric materials used in MEMS and non-MEMS harvesters are also considered in the scaling analysis.

Date Published: 21 May 2015
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 9517, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VII; and Cyber Physical Systems, 95170P (21 May 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2178877

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9517:
Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VII; and Cyber Physical Systems
José Luis Sánchez-Rojas; Riccardo Brama, Editor(s)