Elsevier

Microelectronics Journal

Volume 42, Issue 8, August 2011, Pages 988-991
Microelectronics Journal

Temperature effects on output power of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mejo.2011.05.005Get rights and content

Abstract

The performance of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters was studied as a function of environment temperature. The devices fabricated by soft or hard PZTs were used to investigate the effect of material parameters on the thermal degradation of the devices. PZT MEMS device was also prepared and compared with the bulk devices to investigate scaling effect on the thermal degradation. All devices were heated up to 150 °C in an insulating chamber. Output power was estimated by Roundy’s equivalent circuit model and compared with experimental data. The output power of all devices decreased with the increase of the temperature. The output power as a function of temperature can be predicted by the change of piezoelectric coupling coefficient that is proportional to piezoelectric constant and inverse of square root of dielectric constant. Such combined influence on the output power leads to a lower thermal degradation rate of the soft PZT-based device at a lower temperature. For MEMS scale device based on PZT films, temperature dependence of the output power was reduced. This result can be attributed to decreased temperature dependence of dielectric and piezoelectric constants mainly due to constrained domain motions.

Highlights

► The effect of temperature on the piezoelectric energy harvesters is investigated. ► A model presents the influential factor of coupling coefficient of a material. ► Reduced thermal degradation of thin film PZTs for output power is examined.

Introduction

A piezoelectric energy harvester can be one of the potential subsidiary energy sources in lieu of batteries in mobile devices and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices such as wireless sensor network and structural health monitoring systems [1]. Numerous research on piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters has been focused on the maximum power generation through structural modification [2], [3], [4], resonance frequency tuning [5], [6], or electric circuit adaptation [7]. In practical applications, these piezoelectric devices can be operated at various environmental temperatures, but the characterization of the devices was mostly performed at room temperature. Since material constants of a piezoelectric material strongly depend on temperature, the performance of the piezoelectric device may vary significantly. In addition, investigation of a piezoelectric material that can work robustly at a higher temperature is required to maximize the potential for applications. Shen et al. investigated the most popular piezoelectric materials such as soft PZT, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and macro fiber composite [8]. The comparison of the piezoelectric materials was investigated only at room temperature. Bedekar et al. also conducted a comparative study of single crystals for high temperature applications of piezoelectric devices [9]. Results suggest that only YCa4O(BO3)3 (YCBO) and La3Ga5SiO4 (LGS) will operate at temperatures higher than 500 °C, although PZT performs best at room temperature. Although significant progress has been made in piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters, the temperature effects on the device performance and the consideration of the material selection are rarely addressed.

In the present study the behavior of the piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters was characterized at different environmental temperatures and compared with a model. In order to investigate the effects of material constants and provide guidance of material selection, PZT is selected as a piezoelectric material. Two sets of devices constructed by soft or hard PZTs distinguished by doping elements were examined. Soft and hard PZTs are modified from PZT by doping higher and lower valent elements, respectively. Soft PZT exhibits lower coercive field and higher dielectric constant than hard PZT. Furthermore piezoelectric MEMS energy harvesting device was characterized to compare temperature dependence with bulk scale devices.

Section snippets

Experimental method

Commercial PZT bimorphs (Piezo Systems, Cambridge, MA) were used to construct cantilevers, whose dimensions are 24.7×3.2×0.38 (mm3) (length×width×thickness). The bimorphs consist of two layers of soft (T215-H4-103X) and hard (T215-A4-103X) PZT on both top and bottom with brass between them. A 0.09g of proof mass was attached at the end of a cantilever beam. The cantilever with a proof mass was fixed between electrically insulated metal holders for minimum thermal gradient. The resonance

Result and discussion

Experimentally determined output power values from two types of devices constructed using soft and hard PZTs are shown in Fig. 2. The generated output power decreased with the temperature for both devices. Since the device dimensions of soft and hard PZTs are identical, the difference between the two devices can originate from the difference in the electromechanical properties of soft and hard PZTs. Hard PZT-based device generates slightly higher power at room temperature, but the power values

Conclusion

The performance of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters was investigated as a function of temperature by comparing experimental results and modeling of soft and hard PZT. Degradation of the output power from hard PZT-based device was slightly higher than that of soft PZT-based device at temperature lower than 100 °C in environmental temperature. Modeling results present that the difference in the device from soft and hard PZT can be mainly due to the dielectric constant, and, therefore,

Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center funded by USDA. The authors would like to thank Inostek, Inc. for providing PZT solutions to fabricate MEMS devices.

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