Nanocrystalline ribbons for energy harvesting applications

An energy harvesting device based on nanocrystalline ribbons, able to convert mechanical vibrations to electrical energy, is presented. Such an energy harvesting device having embedded wireless microsensors can provide continuous monitoring of machines or infrastructure health without using service personnel in different areas with high risks. A multilayer core based on magnetic nanocrystalline ribbons was implemented to build the coil for an electromagnetic energy harvesting device with superior characteristics (voltage and power) compared to piezoelectric or pure magnetostrictive devices. Two different configurations were realized and tested for the energy harvester: vibrating core and vibrating magnets. The highest power density achieved for our harvesters using nanocrystalline ribbons is 45 mW/cm(3) at 1 g (resonant frequency 47 Hz) and seems to be among the highest reported in literature. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.