Magnetic Nanocomposite Cilia Energy Harvester

An energy harvester capable of converting low-frequency vibrations into electrical energy is presented. The operating principle, fabrication process, and output characteristics at different frequencies are discussed. The harvester is realized by fabricating an array of polydimethylsiloxane-iron nanowire nanocomposite cilia on a planar coil array. Each coil element consists of 14 turns and occupies an area of 600 mu m x 600 mu m. The cilia are arranged in a 12 x 5 array, and each cilium is 250 mu m wide and 2 mm long. The magnetic characteristics of the fabricated cilia indicate that the nanowires are well aligned inside of the nanocomposite, increasing the efficiency of energy harvesting. The energy harvester occupies an area of 66.96 mm(2) and produces an output rms voltage of 206.47 mu V when excited by a 40 Hz vibration of 1 mm amplitude.