• Ceramist
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.56-69
• /
• 2019

Recent advances in low-power sensors and transmitters are driving the search for standalone power sources that utilize unused ambient energy. These energy harvesters can alleviate the issues related to the installation and maintenance of sensors. Particularly piezoelectric energy harvesters, with the ability to convert ambient mechanical energy into useful electricity, have received significant attention due to their high energy density, low cost and operational stability over wide temperature and pressure conditions. In order to maximize the generated electrical power, the natural frequency of the piezoelectric energy harvester should be matched with the dominant frequency of ambient vibrations. However, piezoelectric energy harvesters typically exhibit a narrow bandwidth, thus, it becomes difficult to operate near resonance under broadband ambient vibration conditions. Therefore, the resonating of energy harvesters is critical to generate maximum output power under ambient vibration conditions. For this, energy harvesters should have broadband natural frequency or actively tunable natural frequency with ambient vibrations. Here, we review the most plausible broadband energy harvesting techniques of the multi-resonance, nonlinearity, and self-resonance tuning. The operation mechanisms and recent representative studies of each technique are introduced and the advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed. In addition, we look into the future research direction for the broadband energy harvester.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2015.08a
• /
• pp.77.2-77.2
• /
• 2015

Recently, metamaterials attracted much attention because of the potential applications for superlens, cloaking and high precision sensors. We developed several dielectric metamaterials for enhancing antireflection or light trapping capability in solar energy harvesting devices. Colloidal lithography and electrochemical anodization process were employed to fabricate self-assembed nano- and microscale dielectric metamaterials in a simple and cost-effective manner. We improved broadband light absorption in c-Si, a-Si, and organic semiconductor layer by employing polystyrene (PS) islands integrated Si conical-frustum arrays, resonant PS nanosphere arrays, and diffusive alumina nanowire arrays, respectively. We also demonstrated thin metal coated alumina nanowire array which is utilized as an efficient light-to-heat conversion layer of solar steam generating devices. The scalable design and adaptable fabrication route to our light management nanostructures will be promising in applications of solar energy harvesting system. On the other hands, broadband invisible cloaks, which continuously work while elastically deforming, are developed using smart metamaterials made of photonic and elastic crystals. A self-adjustable, nearly lossless, and broadband (10-12GHz) smart meatamaterials have great potentials for applications in antenna system and military stealth technology.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.383-391
• /
• 2023

Energy harvesting in trams may become a prevalent source of passive energy generation due to the high density of vibrational energy, and this may help power structural health monitoring systems for the trams. This paper presents a broadband vibrational energy harvesting device design that utilizes a varied frequency from a tram vehicle using a 2 DOF vibrational system combined with electromagnetic energy conversion. This paper will demonstrate stepwise optimization processes to determine mechanical parameters for frequency tuning to adjust to the trams' operational conditions, and electromagnetic parameters for the whole system design to maximize power output. The initial optimization will determine 5 important design parameters in a 2 DOF vibrational system, namely the masses (m₁, m₂ (and spring constants (k₁, k₂, k₃). The second step will use these parameters as initial guesses for the second optimization which will maintain the ratios of these parameters and present electrical parameters to maximize the power output from this system. The obtained values indicated a successful demonstration of design optimization as the average power generated increased from 1.475 mW to 17.44 mW (around 12 times).

• Journal of Magnetics
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.150-156
• /
• 2011

Magnetoelectric (ME) transducers were originally intended for magnetic field sensors but have recently been used in vibration energy harvesting. In this paper, a new broadband vibration energy harvester has been designed and fabricated to be efficiently applicable over a range of source frequencies, which consists of two cantilever beams, two magnetoelectric (ME) transducers and a magnetic circuit. The effects of the structure parameters, such as the non-linear magnetic forces of the ME transducers and the magnetic field distribution of the magnetic circuit, are analyzed for achieving the optimal vibration energy harvesting performances. A prototype is fabricated and tested, and the experimental results on the performances show that the harvester has bandwidths of 5.6 Hz, and a maximum power of 0.25 mW under an acceleration of 0.2 g (with g = $9.8\;ms^2$).

• Journal of IKEEE
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.297-303
• /
• 2012

This paper proposes the effective design procedure for a broadband, double-ridged horn antenna for evaluating the performance of the RF energy harvesting system with a multi-band rectenna. Using multi-mode network analysis, the higher-mode scattering parameters of the transition and horn were acquired and applied to the antenna design, respectively. As a result, the computing time could be reduced and the calculated VSWR(voltage standing wave ratio) of the antenna was very similar to the analyzed result using fully electromagnetic simulation. And there was also good agreement between the simulated and measured results. The designed broadband antenna has a bandwidth of 660~6360 MHz and 6~13.7 dBi peak radiation gain.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.261-265
• /
• 2020

In cantilever type piezoelectric energy harvester, the amount of power generation decreases rapidly when outside a certain frequency. The thickness and weight of the cantilever metal plate were modified to develop cantilevers that could produce high power over a wide frequency range. The thicker the cantilever, the higher the power in the higher frequency range. As the weight of the mass increased, the cantilever tended to generate higher power, and the frequency band decreased. A 0.6 mm metal plate cantilever that had a mass of 3.3 g generated power that exceeded 3 mW within the 91-102 Hz range, with average and output values of 9.484 mW and 20.748 mW, respectively, at 99 Hz.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.112-117
• /
• 2018

In this study, a bender-type piezoelectric energy harvester was fabricated and evaluated to compensate for the disadvantages of high-power generation only in the resonance frequency range of a piezoelectric harvester using a piezoelectric cantilever. The generated power was investigated according to various changes in the vibration environment. Compared with the piezoelectric cantilever module, the bender-type piezoelectric module showed a larger number of peak voltages. The primary peak voltage shifted toward the low frequency when the spring was coupled to the bender-type piezoelectric module. The harvester of the three bender-type modules had a vibration frequency exceeding 1 mW in the 34-45 Hz range and generated 3.112 mW of power at the vibration frequency of 38 Hz. The harvester of the six bender-type modules had a vibration frequency exceeding 1 mW in the 31-45 Hz range and generated 3.081 mW of power at the vibration frequency of 35 Hz.