E-shaped cantilever-based MEMS piezoelectric energy harvester for low frequency applications

The simplicity associated with piezoelectric micro-generators makes them very attractive for MEMS applications in which ambient vibrations are harvested and converted into electric energy. These micro-generators can be an alternative to the battery-based solutions in the future, especially for remote systems. In this paper, we propose a model and present the simulation of a MEMS-based energy harvester under ambient vibration excitation using the coventorware2010 approaches. This E-shaped cantilever-based MEMS energy harvester that operates under ambient excitation in frequencies of 28, 29, and 31 Hz within a base acceleration of 1g produces an output current of 20 mu A, 0.42 V, and a power of 0.2 mu w at 5k Omega load.