Modeling and Simulation of MEMS-Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

Abstract

Vibration-based energy harvesting converts surrounding kinetic energy in the form of structural or mechanical vibrations, human movement, and flow into electrical energy. This could be a promising alternative to reduce the maintenance cost and chemical waste of batteries and eventually achieve self-powered electronics and wireless sensor nodes. Energy transfer mechanisms (ETMs) such as piezoelectric, electromagnetic and electrostatic are incorporated into the system to maximize the combined energy from the surroundings. In this paper, the working principle of piezoelectric energy converter is introduced and investigated. Piezoelectric energy harvester based on typical MEMS is considered. A basic MEMS cantilever model is used to measure the optimal parameter. The model is using one layer of Piezoelectric on top of a Brass subtrade, and the result is verified by finite element analysis in COMSOL Multiphysics and NanoHub. The simulated MEMS can generate a voltage of 1.7-1.9 mV and output power 0.074 uW. An array of these devices can be used to increase the supplied power to Internet of Things (IoT) sensors.