Design and Fabrication of a Micro Electrostatic Vibration-to-Electricity Energy Converter

TL;DR

This paper details the design, simulation, fabrication, and initial testing of a micro electrostatic vibration-to-electricity energy converter, highlighting the challenges faced and ongoing improvements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel micro electrostatic energy converter with optimized parameters and fabrication processes, advancing the development of vibration energy harvesting devices.

Findings

Output power achieved is 200 μW/cm² at optimal load

Design optimization was guided by theoretical calculations and Simulink simulations

Fabrication challenges include residual particles causing capacitor shortages

Abstract

This paper presents a micro electrostatic vibration-toelectricity energy converter. For the 3.3 V supply voltage and 1cm2 chip area constraints, optimal design parameters were found from theoretical calculation and Simulink simulation. In the current design, the output power is 200 $\mu$W/cm2 for the optimal load of 8 M\Omega. The device was fabricated in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. Mechanical and electrical measurements were conducted. Residual particles caused shortage of the variable capacitor and the output power could not be measured. Device design and fabrication processes are being refined.