In this paper, a nanostructured piezoelectric beam is fabricated using vertically aligned lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanowire arrays and its capability of continuous power generation is demonstrated through direct vibration tests. The lead zirconate titanate nanowires are grown on a PZT thin film coated titanium foil using a hydrothermal reaction. The PZT thin film serves as a nucleation site while the titanium foil is used as the bottom electrode. Electromechanical frequency response function (FRF) analysis is performed to evaluate the power harvesting efficiency of the fabricated device. Furthermore, the feasibility of the continuous power generation using the nanostructured beam is demonstrated through measuring output voltage from PZT nanowires when beam is subjected to a sinusoidal base excitation. The effect of tip mass on the voltage generation of the PZT nanowire arrays is evaluated experimentally. The final results show the great potential of synthesized piezoelectric nanowire arrays in a wide range of applications, specifically power generation at nanoscale.

Date Published: 15 April 2016
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9799, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2016, 97991Z (15 April 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2222052

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9799:
Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2016
Gyuhae Park, Editor(s)