Recent Progress on Mechanical Optimization of MEMS Electret-Based Electrostatic Vibration Energy Harvesters

In recent years, self-powered energy harvesting technology has been widely studied, which may provide supplementary power for wireless sensing networks with low power consumptions. The energy harvester could reduce the use of conventional power supply of batteries, and even eliminate the challenge o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of microelectromechanical systems Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 726 - 740
Main Authors Li, Mingjie, Luo, Anxin, Luo, Wenxin, Wang, Fei
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York IEEE 01.10.2022
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subjects
air damping
Air gaps
Capacitance
Damping
Design optimization
Electrets
Electrodes
Electrostatics
Energy conversion
Energy harvester
Energy harvesting
Force
Microelectromechanical systems
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
Power consumption
Power management
pull-in effect
Space charge
Vibration
Vibrations
Wireless networks
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Summary:In recent years, self-powered energy harvesting technology has been widely studied, which may provide supplementary power for wireless sensing networks with low power consumptions. The energy harvester could reduce the use of conventional power supply of batteries, and even eliminate the challenge of battery replacement for large scale networks. In this review, the fundamentals and theories of energy conversion from mechanical vibration to electrical current via variable capacitor are introduced, followed by the discussion of frequency bandwidth broadening, structural parameters, such as surface potential, initial air gap, and stopper heights, as the aspects for controlling squeeze-film air damping force and the output power. Representative examples of the design optimizations of vacuum operating pressure and perforated holes on bottom electrode are presented. Also, special electret processing and built-in corona needles for enhanced space charge stability and self-recharging capability are briefed. This review can provide the research community with a better understanding of the MEMS-compatible electrostatic vibration energy harvester, and further facilitate its development for future potential applications.
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ISSN:1057-7157
1941-0158
DOI:10.1109/JMEMS.2022.3194859