Fabrication of aluminium doped zinc oxide piezoelectric thin film on a silicon substrate for piezoelectric MEMS energy harvesters

Thin film piezoelectric materials play an essential role in micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) energy harvesting due to its low power requirement and high available energy densities. Non-ferroelectric piezoelectric materials such as ZnO and AlN are highly silicon compatible making it suitable for MEMS energy harvesters in self-powered microsystems. This work primarily describe the design, simulation and fabrication of aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) cantilever beam deposited on <100> silicon substrate. AZO was chosen due its high piezoelectric coupling coefficient, ease of deposition and excellent bonding with silicon substrate. Doping of ZnO with Al has improved the electrical properties, conductivity and thermal stability. The proposed design operates in transversal mode (d ₃₁ mode) which was structured as a parallel plated capacitor using Si/Al/AZO/Al layers. The highlight of this work is the successful design and fabrication of Al/AZO/Al on <100> silicon as the substrate to make the device CMOS compatible for electronic functionality integration. Design and finite element modeling was conducted using COMSOL? software to estimate the resonance frequency. RF Magnetron sputtering was chosen as the deposition method for aluminium and AZO. Material characterization was performed using X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the piezoelectric qualities, surface morphology and the cross section. The fabricated energy harvester generated 1.61?V open circuit output voltage at 7.77?MHz resonance frequency. The experimental results agreed with the simulation results. The measured output voltage is sufficient for low power wireless sensor nodes as an alternative power sources to traditional chemical batteries.     

A comparative study on MEMS piezoelectric microgenerators

The growing demand of wireless sensor networks has created the necessity of miniature, portable, long lasting and easily recharged sources of power. Traditional, hazardous batteries are rendered unacceptable and the viability of ‘green’ MEMS energy harvesters has become even more dominant. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art MEMS piezoelectric energy harvesters which promise a cleaner environment and eliminate the disposal issue of conventional batteries. Piezoelectric devices are the perfect candidate for implementation in micro generators as they are easily fabricated, are silicon compatible and demonstrate high efficiencies for mechanical to electrical energy conversion. The characteristic equations which govern the conversion of mechanical vibration to electrical power are described in this paper. The typical operating modes for MEMS piezoelectric energy cantilevers which are namely; d₃₁ and d₃₃ are also detailed. Criteria for optimum material suitable for MEMS energy scavengers to produce maximum power output are also outlined. Several MEMS energy harvesters which have been successfully fabricated and tested are also critically reviewed in this paper. Finally a comparison table highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each work is presented.     

悬臂梁压电式振动发电机材料性能优化研究

具有高能量密度的微型压电振动发电机可以无限、持续地为无线传感器网络提供能量。为了提高有限体积悬臂梁压电式振动发电机的发电能力,通过力学模型及有限元仿真分析了单晶片型式、双晶片并联型式和双晶片串联型式压电振动发电机的材料参数与输出电压及固有频率之间的关系。结果表明,在低频工作环境下,应优先选择PZT-4、PZT-5A、PZT-5H的压电材料和不锈钢、镍合金的基板材料。     

Characteristic studies of the piezoelectrically actuated micropump with check valve

This study presents the design and fabrication of a novel piezoelectric actuator for a micropump with check valve having the advantages of miniature size, light weight and low power consumption. The micropump is designed to have five major components, namely a piezoelectric actuator, a stainless steel chamber layer with membrane, two stainless steel channel layers with two valve seats, and a nickel check valve layer with two bridge-type check valves. A prototype of the micropump, with a size of 10 × 10 × 1.0 mm, is fabricated by precise manufacturing. The check valve layer was fabricated by nickel electroforming process on a stainless steel substrate. The chamber and the channel layer were made of the stainless steel manufactured using the lithography and etching process based on MEMS fabrication technology. The experimental results demonstrate that the flow rate of micropump accurately controlled by regulating the operating frequency and voltage. The flow rate of 1.82 ml/min and back pressure of 32 kPa are obtained when the micropump is driven with alternating sine-wave voltage of 120 Vpp at 160 Hz. The micropump proposed in this study provides a valuable contribution to the ongoing development of microfluidic systems.     

基于柔性基底的压电能量收集器的设计

以PDMS为柔性基底设计的PVDF压电薄膜新型压电能量收集器压电性能良好,柔韧性强,可适应复杂的振动环境,具有广阔的应用前景.首先设计了具有柔性基底的压电能量收集器的结构;其次,用PVDF颗粒采用静电纺丝法制备了PVDF压电薄膜;最后,实验表明设计的压电能量收集器在振动频率为25 Hz,振动幅度为2 mm的激励下,开路输出峰值电压为8.38 V,输出功率密度为6.32 μW/cm2;经Ansys有限元分析,发现增大激励源的振动幅度,可以提高压电能量收集器的开路输出电压和输出功率.     

New simulation approach for tuneable trapezoidal and rectangular piezoelectric bimorph energy harvesters

Enhancing and optimizing the power and operating frequency range of energy harvesters (EH) are important objectives in designing an energy harvester generator. The application of trapezoidal shaped piezoelectric (PZT) cantilever is one way of increasing the harvested power of energy harvesters. Finite element software was used to simulate a tuneable trapezoidal and a rectangular PZT bimorph cantilevers with similar specifications. From the new simulation approach, an open circuit voltage obtained for different resonance frequencies for both generators. The simulation results are compared with the experimental and found to be in good agreement. The results have showed an increase in power over 19 % for the trapezoidal generator over the rectangular generator for a frequency range of 38–122 Hz. The trapezoidal harvester produced maximum power of 0.272 mW at resonance frequency of 34 Hz and acceleration of 2.5 m/s².

     

A micro electromagnetic low level vibration energy harvester based on MEMS technology

This paper presents a micro electromagnetic energy harvester which can convert low level vibration energy to electrical power. It mainly consists of an electroplated copper planar spring, a permanent magnet and a copper planar coil with high aspect ratio. Mechanical simulation shows that the natural frequency of the magnet-spring system is 94.5 Hz. The resonant vibration amplitude of the magnet is 259.1 μm when the input vibration amplitude is 14 μm and the magnet-spring system is at resonance. Electromagnetic simulation shows that the linewidth and the turns of the coil influence the induced voltage greatly. The optimized electromagnetic vibration energy harvester can generate 0.7 μW of maximal output power with peak–peak voltage of 42.6 mV in an input vibration frequency of 94.5 Hz and input acceleration of 4.94 m/s² (this vibration is a kind of low level ambient vibration). A prototype (not optimized) has been fabricated using MEMS micromachining technology. The testing results show that the prototype can generate induced voltage (peak–peak) of 18 mV and output power of 0.61 μW for 14.9 m/s² external acceleration at its resonant frequency of 55 Hz (this vibration is not in a low ambient vibration level).     

Simulations,fabrication, and characterization of d31 mode piezoelectric vibration energy harvester

This paper presents the development work on d₃₁ mode piezoelectric vibration energy harvester. The device structure consists of a fixed-free type cantilever beam with a seismic mass attached at the free end of the beam. On top of the cantilever beam, a ZnO piezoelectric layer is sandwiched between two metal electrodes. The harvester is designed using an FEM tool CoventorWare. The simulations are carried out to estimate the resonance frequency, mises stress, optimal load resistance, and generated power. The optimized design is then implemented using a five mask SOI bulk micromachining process. The fabricated harvester is characterized for frequency response using Polytec MSA-500 Micro System Analyzer. The experimental resonance frequency is found to be 235.38 Hz. The harvester is also evaluated for generated open-circuit voltage when subjected to harmonic acceleration. The open-circuit peak-to-peak voltage for 0.1 g acceleration is found to be 306 mV.

     

Five topologies of cantilever-based MEMS piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters: a numerical and experimental comparison

In the realm of MEMS piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters, cantilever-based designs are by far the most popular. For cantilever-based vibration energy harvesters, the active piezoelectric area near the clamped end is able to accumulate maximum strain-generated-electrical-charge, while the free end is used to house a proof mass to improve the power output without compromising the effective area of the piezoelectric generator since it experiences minimal strain anyway. However, despite while other contending designs do exist, this paper explores five selected micro-cantilever (MC) topologies, namely: a plain MC, a tapered MC, a lined MC, a holed MC and a coupled MC, in order to assess their relative performance as an energy harvester. Although a classical straight and plain MC offers the largest active piezoelectric area, alternative MC designs can potentially offer larger deflection and thus mechanical strain distribution for a given mechanical loading. Numerical simulation and experimental comparison of these 5 MCs (0.5 µm AlN on 10 µm Si) with the same practical dimensions of 500 µm and 2000 µm, suggest a cantilever with a coupled subsidiary cantilever yield the best power performance, closely followed by the classical plain cantilever topology.     

Fabrication process for very-low frequency operation of guided two-beam piezoelectric energy harvester

Microsystem Technologies - MEMS-based piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters found suitable to power wireless sensor nodes, typically in a remote area of operation. In MEMS technology,...     

A new S-shaped MEMS PZT cantilever for energy harvesting from low frequency vibrations below 30 Hz

In this paper, a new S-shaped piezoelectric PZT cantilever is microfabricated for scavenging vibration energy at low frequencies (<30 Hz) and low accelerations (<0.4g). The maximum voltage and normalized power are 42 mV and 0.31 μW g ⁻², respectively, at input acceleration of 0.06g. For acceleration above 0.06g, the vibration of PZT cantilever changes from a linear oscillation to a nonlinear impact oscillation due to the displacement constraint introduced by a mechanical stopper. Based on theoretical modeling and experimental results, the frequency broadening effect of the PZT cantilever is studied with varying stop distances and input accelerations. The operation bandwidth of the piezoelectric PZT cantilever is able to extend from 3.4 to 11.1 Hz as the stop distance reduces from 1.7 to 0.7 mm for an acceleration of 0.3g, at the expense of the voltage and normalized power at resonance decreasing from 40 to 16 mV and from 17.8 to 2.8 nW g⁻², respectively.     

Comparative study of conventional and magnetically coupled piezoelectric energy harvester to optimize output voltage and bandwidth

Energy harvesting has experienced significant attention from researchers globally. This is due to the quest to power remote sensors and portable devices with power requirements of tens to hundreds of μW. Hence, ambient vibration energy has the potential to provide such power demands. Thus, cantilever beams with piezoelectric materials have been utilized to transduce mechanical energy in vibrating bodies to electrical energy. However, the challenge is to develop energy harvesters that can harvest sufficient amount of energy needed to power wireless sensor nodes at wide frequency bandwidth. In this article, piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) beams with coupled magnets are proposed to address this issue. With macro fiber composite as the piezoelectric transducer, mathematical models of different system configurations having magnetic couplings are derived based on the continuum based model. Simulations of the system dynamics are done using numerical integration technique in MATLAB software to study the influence of magnetic interactions in generating power and frequency bandwidth due to base excitations at low frequency range. Experimental results comparing conventional system and the proposed piezoelectric beam configurations with coupled magnets are also presented. Finally, the optimal beam separation distance between the magnetic oscillator and PEH is presented in this work.

     

带谐振腔的微型压电风能采集器

为了提高基于风致振动机理的微型风能采集器在低速风作用下的输出功率,提出一种带谐振腔的微型压电风能采集器结构,该采集器由谐振腔和振动梁构成,振动梁由压电梁和柔性梁组成。谐振腔可以改变振动梁附近的流场分布,扩大作用于振动梁的动风载荷,从而提高了采集器在低速风作用下的输出功率。实验分析了风速、压电梁长度和柔性梁长度对采集器输出性能的影响。当谐振腔尺寸为64 mm×22 mm×14 mm,振动梁长度和宽度分别为38 mm和6.4 mm时,微型风能采集器在17 m/s风载荷作用下的最大输出功率达到1.28 mW。     

A study on controllable aluminium doped zinc oxide patterning by chemical etching for MEMS application

This present work reports on the study of controllable aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) patterning by chemical etching for MEMS application. The AZO thin film was prepared by RF magnetron sputtering as it is capable of producing uniform thin film at high deposition rates. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterization were done to characterize AZO thin film. The sputtered AZO thin film shows c-axis (002) orientation, low surface roughness and high crystalline quality. To pattern AZO thin film for MEMS application, wet etching was chosen due to its ease of processing with few controlling parameters. Four etching solutions were used namely: 10 % Nitric acid, 10 % Phosphoric acid, 10 % Acetic acid and Molybdenum etch solutions. For the first time, chemical etching using Molybdenum etch that consist of a mixture of CH₃COOH, HNO₃ and H₃PO₄ was characterized and reported. The effect of these acidic solutions on the undercut etching, vertical and lateral etch rate were studied. The etched AZO were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and stylus profilometer. The investigations showed that the Molybdenum etch has the lowest undercut etching of 7.11 µm, and is highly effective in terms of lateral and vertical etching with an etch ratio of 1.30. Successful fine patterning of AZO thin films was demonstrated at device level on a surface acoustic wave resonator fabricated in 0.35 μm CMOS technology. The AZO thin film acts as the piezoelectric thin film for acoustic wave generation. Patterning of the AZO thin film is necessary for access to measurement probe pads. The working acoustic resonator showed resonance peak at 1.044 GHz at 45.28 dB insertion loss indicating that the proposed Molybdenum etch method does not adversely affect the device’s operating characteristics.

     

An innovative piezoelectric energy harvester using clamped–clamped beam with proof mass for WSN applications

In this paper a miniature piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) with clamped–clamped beam and mass loading at the center is introduced which has more consistency against off-axis accelerations and more efficiency in comparison to other cantilever PEH’s. The beams consist of different layers of Si, piezoelectric, and insulators based on MEMS technology that vibrates by applying an external force to the fixed frame. Due to beam vibration, variable stress is applied to the AlN piezoelectric and a potential difference is created at the output terminals. AlN is deposited on clamped–clamped beams in such a way that produce more stress points which cause more power to be generated in comparison to other cantilever beam PEH’s with about same dimensions. A partial differential equations (PDE) describing the flexural wave propagating in the multi-morph clamped–clamped beam are solved as theoretical calculations for inherent frequency estimation and is confirmed by simulation results. The obtained inherent frequency is 42 Hz which with 1 g (g = 9.81 m/s²) acceleration produces 4 V and 80 µW maximum electrical peak power that can be used in the node of low-power consumption wireless sensor node for wireless sensor network (WSN) applications.

     

压电超材料单元设计及在弹性梁减振中的应用

超材料是将不同性质的材料按照某种规律组合在一起形成的一种周期材料.由于其对弹性波的传递会产生带隙效应,因此在噪声控制、减振隔振等领域得到重视.本文设计了一种压电超材料,通过压电材料元胞的周期性排列,产生频率带隙,以获得减振效果.结构尺寸及厚度小,可以粘贴在主结构上.首先分析了设计的压电超材料色散特性;其次,利用压电超材料对悬臂梁结构进行了减振研究,分析了若干个元胞组成的压电超材料对梁振动能量的调控,并结合压电片上的电压曲线;最后,研究了分流电路中的电阻值和电感值对压电超材料梁减振特性的影响.提出此类压电超材料的进一步改进方向.     

A single-magnet nonlinear piezoelectric converter for enhanced energy harvesting from random vibrations

Power harvesters from mechanical vibrations are commonly linear mechanical resonators that are most effective when excited at resonance. Differently, under wideband vibrations, linear converters are suboptimal. A nonlinear converter is here proposed that implements nonlinearity and bistability by employing a single external magnet, in order to improve conversion effectiveness while simplifying device fabrication. The converter is composed of a piezoelectric bimorph on a ferromagnetic cantilever. The fabrication technology is based on the screen printing of a PZT low-curing-temperature paste on harmonic steel substrate. The ferromagnetic cantilever converter, under proper coupling with the external magnet, bounces between two stable states when excited by random vibrations and generates an electric output via the piezoelectric effect. According to theoretical predictions, when bistable behaviour is present, experimental results demonstrate an improvement of about 400% of the rms voltage generated by the converter with respect to the linear case.     

Challenges in fabrication and testing of piezoelectric MEMS with a particular focus on energy harvesters

In this paper an overview of some of the challenges encountered in the fabrication and testing of MEMS-based piezoelectric devices is presented. All major steps involved in developing piezoelectric MEMS, with particular focus on energy harvesters, are examined in three main sections: Microfabrication, Packaging and Testing. Although the main focus of this paper are the challenges involved with vibration based piezoelectric energy harvesters, most of these challenges apply to other piezoelectric MEMS devices. Various techniques reported for each individual fabrication step are categorized to provide a summary of required information. This allows new researchers to estimate the overall fabrication process, available resources and equipment to prepare accordingly. In addition, challenges of each technique are pointed out explicitly with solutions from literature and our own research. These challenges are typically overlooked in results-based technical papers. Some of the technical solutions discussed were achieved in our experimental work. For other solutions found in literature, references are provided to address issues more in detail. Packaging piezoelectric energy harvesters can be especially challenging. Although a variety of packaging solutions exist for MEMS, these solutions are generic and must be adapted to fit the specific needs of the energy harvesters. This paper illustrates some packaging schemes that have been developed in our research to overcome these challenges. In addition, testing challenges and equipment requirements are discussed with sample results demonstrated. This article explores all fabrication steps, reviews literature, points out challenges and provides solutions with regard to developing piezoelectric MEMS.     

A piezoelectric cantilever-beam energy harvester (PCEH) with a rectangular hole in the metal substrate

In order to improve the energy conversion performance of a piezoelectric cantilever-beam energy harvester (PCEH), a novel PCEH is developed and designed according to the typical PCEH. Its middle layer is a metal substrate with a rectangular hole. The mathematical model of the PCEH is analyzed, and the mathematical expressions of the eigenfrequency, the displacement of the proof mass and the output voltage and power are derived. In order to verify the validity of the model, the eigenfrequency and frequency domain are analyzed by using COMSOL and Matlab, and the influence of frequency, load resistance and acceleration on voltage and power is studied. Finally, the experimental verification was carried out to further confirm. The results show that the first-order eigenfrequency of the novel PCEH is 43.7 Hz, the optimal output power is 10.69 mW. Therefore, the novel PCEH has a lower frequency, a wider frequency band, and higher output voltage and power, and improves energy conversion performance.