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PowerMEMS 2017 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1052 (2018)
1234567890 ‘’“” 012002 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1052/1/012002

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems

Kenji Uchino
Int’l Ctr. for Actuators & Transducers, The Penn State Univ., University Park, PA
16802, USA

kenjiuchino@psu.edu

Abstract
Energy harvesting from wasted or unused power has been the topic of discussion for a long time.
This paper focuses on harvesting energy from mechanical vibrations using piezoelectric transducers.
We will consider comprehensively three major phases/steps associated with piezoelectric energy
harvesting: (i) mechanical-mechanical energy transfer, including mechanical stability of the
piezoelectric transducer under large stresses, and mechanical impedance matching, (ii) mechanical-
electrical energy transduction, relating with the electromechanical coupling factor in the composite
transducer structure, and (iii) electrical-electrical energy transfer, including electrical impedance
matching, such as a DC/DC converter to accumulate the energy into a rechargeable battery. The problem
found in the current research teams is on a narrow research area of each above phase. In order to provide
comprehensive strategies on how to improve the efficiency of the harvesting system, I provide a general
guideline for piezoelectric energy harvesting systems.
We dealt with detailed energy flow analysis in piezoelectric energy harvesting systems with stiff
“Cymbals” (~100 mW) and flexible piezoelectric transducers (~1 mW) under cyclic mechanical load,
in order to provide comprehensive strategies on how to improve the efficiency of the harvesting system.
Energy transfer rates are practically evaluated for all three steps above. For your information, the former
“Cymbal” is to be applied to the automobile engine vibration, while the latter flexible transducer is to
the human-wearable energy-harvesting system.
We should also point out here that there is another research school of piezo-energy harvesting; that
is, small energy harvesting (mW or lower) for signal transfer applications, where the efficiency is not a
primary objective. This school usually treats a burst/pulse load to generate instantaneous electric energy
for transmitting signals for a short period (100 ms ~ 10 s) without accumulating the electricity in a
rechargeable battery. Successful piezoelectric products in the commercial market belong mostly to this
category at present, including “LightningSwitch” [remote switch for room lights, with using a
piezoelectric unimorph component], and the 25 mm caliber “Programmable Ammunition” [electricity
generation with a multilayer piezo-actuator under shot impact], both of which were originally designed
in our group (spin-off company, Micromechatronics Inc., State College, PA).

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PowerMEMS 2017 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1052 (2018)
1234567890 ‘’“” 012002 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1052/1/012002

Fig. 1 Three major phases associated with piezoelectric energy harvesting): (i)
mechanical-mechanical energy transfer, (ii) mechanical-electrical energy
transduction, and (iii) electrical-electrical energy transfer.