Micro-fabricated lead zirconate titanate bent cantilever energy harvester with multi-dimensional operation

At present, a cantilever with an inertial mass at its free end is the most widely used form for a vibration-based energy harvester, due to its simple structure and fabrication. However, the one-dimensional operation limits device installation. We first report a multi-dimensional piezoelectric cantilever-type energy harvester that oscillates not only in the vertical direction but also in the radial direction. While the conventional cantilever-type energy harvester maintains almost its maximum output power when it is installed within 20 degrees of the operating direction, the proposed device presents the significantly improved result that the output power is independent of the installation angle. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4789754]