Piezoelectric energy harvesting: State-of-the-art and challenges

Piezoelectric energy harvesting has attracted wide attention from researchers especially in the last decade due to its advantages such as high power density, architectural simplicity, and scalability. As a result, the number of studies on piezoelectric energy harvesting published in the last 5 years is more than twice the sum of publications on its electromagnetic and electrostatic counterparts. This paper presents a comprehensive review on the history and current state-of-the art of piezoelectric energy harvesting. A brief theory section presents the basic principles of piezoelectric energy conversion and introduces the most commonly used mechanical architectures. The theory section is followed by a literature survey on piezoelectric energy harvesters, which are classified into three groups: (i) macro- and mesoscale, (ii) MEMS scale, and (iii) nanoscale. The size of a piezoelectric energy harvester affects a variety of parameters such as its weight, fabrication method, achievable power output level, and potential application areas. Consequently, size-based classification provides a reliable and effective basis to study various piezoelectric energy harvesters. The literature survey on each scale group is concluded with a summary, potential application areas, and future directions. In a separate section, the most prominent challenges in piezoelectric energy harvesting and the studies focusing on these challenges are discussed. The conclusion part summarizes the current standing of piezoelectric energy harvesters as possible candidates for various applications and discusses the issues that need to be addressed for realization of practical piezoelectric energy harvesting devices. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.