Research on Micro-Electro-Mechanical System-Based Integrated Energy Harvester with Test Structures

Expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) in industrial fields requires a novel power supply. Research on a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based integrated energy harvester with test structures for power supply is proposed. The MEMS fabrication process is applied and amended to achieve a better performance. A metal heat sink is fabricated at the center of the harvester for thermoelectric gathering. The photoelectric harvester is in the back of the device to integrate with the thermoelectric harvester. The output voltage factor and output power factor of the thermoelectric harvester are measured to be 0.58 V cm(-2) K-1 and 2.76 x 10(2) mu W cm(-2) K-2. The efficiencies when the photoelectric harvester works with top arid bottom sides, respectively, are 5.45% arid 0.27%. In addition, several parameter test structures are designed to explain how external and internal parameters affect the performance of the proposed device. The maximum output power factor is found to be related to the length and width of the thermocouple. This relationship provides a way to amend the performance of the proposed device in our further research.

Automated summary

A novel power supply for IoT in industrial fields is proposed, utilizing a MEMS-based integrated energy harvester with test structures. A metal heat sink is fabricated at the center of the harvester for thermoelectric gathering, while a photoelectric harvester is integrated at the back. Parameter test structures are designed to explain the impact of external and internal parameters on performance, revealing a relationship between the length and width of the thermocouple and the maximum output power factor.