Design considerations for MEMS-scale piezoelectric mechanical vibration energy harvesters

Design considerations for piezoelectric-based energy harvesters for MEMS-scale sensors are presented, including a review of past work. Harvested ambient vibration energy can satisfy power needs of advanced MEMS-scale autonomous sensors for numerous applications, e.g., structural health monitoring. Coupled 1-D and modal (beam structure) electromechanical models are presented to predict performance, especially power, from measured low-level ambient vibration sources. Models are validated by comparison to prior published results and tests of a MEMS-scate device. A non-optimized prototype low-level ambient MEMS harvester producing 30 mu W/cm(3) is designed and modeled. A MEMS fabrication process for the prototype device is presented based on past work.