Electromagnetic micro power generator — A comprehensive survey

This paper presents a comprehensive survey on vibration powered electromagnetic micro generator, which harvest mechanical energy from environment and convert this energy into useful electrical power for micro system and sensor node. The on-going research works on electromagnetic micro generator are reviewed as a background of this paper. Basic theories of micro generator to produce power from ambient motion by damping the suspended proof mass system over the coils are presented. Several important parameters such as the shape, types of magnet, spring and coil property used in designing electromagnetic micro generator as well as power processing circuit are also included. Different designs of micro generator for different environment and application are discussed. Significant challenges in converting the power by each design are also highlighted in this paper.