DEVELOPMENT OF A VIBRATION-BASED MEMS ENERGY HARVESTER

Abstract

Energy harvesting technique provides an attractive solution of clean and regenerative power source for wireless sensor nodes. Ambient available vibrations are ubiquitous, but normally of low and random frequency peaks in different directions, which would limit the applicability of traditional vibration-based MEMS energy harvesters. This thesis mainly focus on development of new vibration-based MEMS energy harvesting systems by incorporating wideband, frequency-up-conversion (FUC) and 3-D approaches for providing reasonable and promising solutions of current challenges. For each of the proposed vibration-based MEMS energy harvester, the design configuration and microfabrication are illustrated. Mechanical and electrical modeling and simulations are discussed. Energy harvesting measurements and power evaluations are characterized. With further optimization and integration, there would be a wide variety of applications that could greatly benefit from the proposed vibration-based MEMS energy harvesters.