• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.263-269
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• 2017

A piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester (PCEH) driven in longitudinal (3-3) vibration mode was fabricated, and its electrical properties were evaluated by varying the resistive load. A commercial PZT piezoelectric ceramic with a high piezoelectric charge constant ($d_{33}$) of 520 pC/N and the interdigitated (IDT) electrode pattern was used to fabricate the PCEH driven in longitudinal vibration. The IDT Ag electrode embedded piezoelectric laminates were co-fired at $850^{\circ}C$ for 2 h. The 3-3 mode PCEH was successfully fabricated by attaching the piezoelectric laminates to a SUS304 elastic substrate. The PCEH exhibited a high output power of 3.8 mW across the resistive load of $100k{\Omega}$ at 100 Hz and 1.5 G. This corresponds to a power density of $10.3mW/cm^3$ and a normalized global power factor of $4.56mW/g^2{\cdot}cm^3$. Given the other PCEH driven in transverse (3-1) vibration mode, the 3-3 mode PCEH could be better for vibration energy harvesting applications.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.216-220
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• 2018

The piezoelectric properties of $0.65Pb(Zr_{1-x}Ti_x)O_3-0.35Pb(Zn_{1/6}Ni_{1/6}Nb_{2/3})O_3$ ($PZT_x-PZNN$) ceramics with $0.530{\leq}x{\leq}0.555$ were investigated for application to piezoelectric energy harvesters. Although a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) was found at approximately x = 0.545, the ceramic with the highest figure of merit (FOM) ($d_{33}{\times}g_{33}$) was observed at a composition of x = 0.540. Values of this figure of merit, $d_{33}{\times}g_{33}$, of $19.6pm^2/N$ and $20.2pm^2/N$ were obtained from $PZT_{0.540}-PZNN$ ceramics sintered at $920^{\circ}C$ and $950^{\circ}C$, respectively. A high output power of $937{\mu}W$ and a high power density of $3.3mW/cm^3$ were obtained from unimorph-type piezoelectric energy harvesters fabricated using $PZT_{0.540}-PZNN$ ceramic sintered at $920^{\circ}C$ for 4h.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.357-372
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• 2021

The energy harvesting device is known to be promising as an alternative to solve the resource shortage caused by the depletion of petroleum resources. In order to overcome the limitations (environmental pollution and low mechanical properties) of piezoelectric elements capable of converting mechanical motion into electrical energy, many studies have been conducted on a polymer matrix-based composite piezoelectric energy harvesting device. In this paper, the output performance and related applications of the reported piezoelectric composites are reviewed based on the applied materials and processes. As for the piezoelectric fillers, zinc oxide, which is advantageous in terms of eco-friendliness, biocompatibility, and flexibility, as well as ceramic fillers based on lead zirconate titanate and barium titanate, were reviewed. The polymer matrix was classified into piezoelectric polymers composed of polyvinylidene fluoride and copolymers, and flexible polymers based on epoxy and polydimethylsiloxane, to discuss piezoelectric synergy of composite materials and improvement of piezoelectric output by high external force application, respectively. In addition, the effect of improving the conductivity or the mechanical properties of composite material by the application of a metal or carbon-based secondary filler on the output performance of the piezoelectric harvesting device was explained in terms of the structure of the composite material. Composite material-based piezoelectric harvesting devices, which can be applied to small electronic devices, smart sensors, and medicine with improved performance, can provide potential insights as a power source for wireless electronic devices expected to be encountered in future daily life.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.219-219
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• 2008

Energy harvesting from the environment has been of great interest as a standalone power source of wireless sensor nodes for ubiquitous sensor networks (USN). There are several power generating methods such as thermal gradients, solar cell, energy produced by human action, mechanical vibration energy, and so on. Most of all, mechanical vibration is easily accessible and has no limitation of weather and environment of outdoor or indoor. In particular, the piezoelectric energy harvesting from ambient vibration sources has attracted attention because it has a relative high power density comparing with other energy scavenging methods. Through recent advances in low power consumption RF transmitters and sensors, it is possible to adopt a micro-power energy harvesting system realized by MEMS technology for the system-on-chip. However, the MEMS energy harvesting system hassome drawbacks such as a high natural frequency over 300 Hz and a small power generation due to a small dimension. To overcome these limitations, we devised a novel power generator with a spiral spring structure. In this case, the energy harvester has a lower natural frequency under 200 Hz than a normal cantilever structure. Moreover, it has higher an energy conversion efficient because shear mode ($d_{15}$) is much larger than 33 mode ($d_{33}$) and the energy conversion efficiency is proportional to the piezoelectric constant (d). We expect the spiral type MEMS power generator would be a good candidate as a standalone power generator for USN.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.153-162
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• 2018

The importance of energy harvesting technique is increasing due to the elevated level of demand for sustainable power sources for wearable device applications. In this study, we developed an Energy Harvesting wearable Platform(EH-P) architecture which is used in the design of a multi-energy source based on TENG. The proposed switching circuit produces power with higher current at lower voltage from energy harvesting sources with lower current at higher voltage. This can powers microcontrollers for a short period of time by using PV and TENG complementarily placed under hard conditions for the sources such as indoors. As a result, the whole interface circuit is completely self-powered with this makes it possible to run of sensing on a Wearable device platform. It was possible to increase the wearable device life time by supplying more than 29% of the power consumption to wearable devices. The results presented in this paper show the potential of multi-energy harvesting platform for use in wearable harvesting applications, provide a means of choosing the energy harvesting source.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.31-34
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• 2013

Based on the structural analysis of cantilever and the piezoelectric effect, we propose a new design of piezoelectric cantilever to harvest maximum vibration energy. Geometric parameters of piezoelectric cantilever are optimized according to two different types of cantilever structure. The main factors that affect the harvesting performance of the cantilever was the shape of the cantilever and the load at the free end. The amount of charge is affected by piezoelectric constant and mechanical strain of the cantilever.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.247-266
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• 2014

Conventional cantilevered piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) are usually fabricated with continuous electrode configuration (CEC), which suffers from the electrical cancellation at higher vibration modes. Though previous research pointed out that the segmented electrode configuration (SEC) can address this issue, a comprehensive evaluation of the PEH with SEC has yet been reported. With the consideration of delivering power to a common load, the AC outputs from all segmented electrode pairs should be rectified to DC outputs separately. In such case, theoretical formulation for power estimation becomes challenging. This paper proposes a method based on equivalent circuit model (ECM) and circuit simulation to evaluate the performance of the PEH with SEC. First, the parameters of the multi-mode ECM are identified from theoretical analysis. The ECM is then established in SPICE software and validated by the theoretical model and finite element method (FEM) with resistive loads. Subsequently, the optimal performances with SEC and CEC are compared considering the practical DC interface circuit. A comprehensive evaluation of the advantageous performance with SEC is provided for the first time. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using SEC as a simple and effective means to improve the performance of a cantilevered PEH at a higher mode.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.364-368
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• 2021

We developed a highly efficient organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell with a poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b;4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(4-(2-ethylhexyl)-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-)-2-carboxylate-2-6-diyl)]:[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester active layer for harvesting lower-intensity indoor light energy to power various self-powered sensor systems that require power in the microwatt range. In order to achieve higher power conversion efficiency (PCE), we first optimized the thickness of the active layer of the OPV cell through optical simulations. Next, we fabricated an OPV cell with optimized active layer thickness. The device exhibited a PCE of 12.23%, open circuit voltage of 0.66 V, short-circuit current density of 97.7 ㎂/cm², and fill factor of 60.53%. Furthermore, the device showed a maximum power density of 45 ㎼/cm², which is suitable for powering a low-power (microwatt range) sensor system.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.400-405
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• 2021

In this study, a composite material frame was designed to increase the energy harvesting efficiency of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ribbon harvesters which are installed inside smart shoes. In order to minimize the amount of deformation in the load direction of the frame, it was designed using carbon continuous fiber composites and its complex shaped structure was manufactured using a 3D printer. In order to calculate the amount of deformation of the insole and midsole of the shoes under the condition of the load generated during walking, the insole and midsole were modeled using the distributed spring elements. Using finite element analysis, the elongation of ribbon-type harvesters mounted on smart shoes was calculated during walking. It is expected that the predicted elongation of the harvester can be utilized to increase the energy harvesting efficiency of smart shoes.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.1320-1327
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• 2013

In this paper, two different electromagnetic energy harvesters using bulk micromachined silicon spiral springs and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) packaging technique have been fabricated, characterized, and compared to generate electrical energy from ultra-low ambient vibrations under 0.3g. The proposed energy harvesters were comprised of a highly miniaturized Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) magnet, silicon spiral spring, multi-turned copper coil, and PDMS housing in order to improve the electrical output powers and reduce their sizes/volumes. When an external vibration moves directly the magnet mounted as a seismic mass at the center of the spiral spring, the mechanical energy of the moving mass is transformed to electrical energy through the 183 turns of solenoid copper coils. The silicon spiral springs were applied to generate high electrical output power by maximizing the deflection of the movable mass at the low level vibrations. The fabricated energy harvesters using these two different spiral springs exhibited the resonant frequencies of 36Hz and 63Hz and the optimal load resistances of $99{\Omega}$ and $55{\Omega}$, respectively. In particular, the energy harvester using the spiral spring with two links exhibited much better linearity characteristics than the one with four links. It generated $29.02{\mu}W$ of output power and 107.3mV of load voltage at the vibration acceleration of 0.3g. It also exhibited power density and normalized power density of $48.37{\mu}W{\cdot}cm-3$ and $537.41{\mu}W{\cdot}cm-3{\cdot}g-2$, respectively. The total volume of the fabricated energy harvesters was $1cm{\times}1cm{\times}0.6cm$ (height).