A Circuit Prototype for Dielectric Polymer Energy Harvesting System

Recent development of Dielectric Electro Active Polymer (DEAP) for energy harvesting has gained a lot of attention for research. At the current time most investigations focus on the mechanical-to- electric energy conversion. In this paper we discussed the overall energy conversion circuit. Theoretical analysis shows the energy conversion efficiency largely depends on the circuit topology. While the previously suggested circuit may not actually have net energy gain; we proposed a new circuitry for DEAP energy harvesting. Simulation results shows that the system can have net energy gain without using external voltage bias source. The experimental testing shows that the proposed circuit can supply 32 nJ per second energy from a 5 Hz mechanical force.