Innovative Structure for Mechanical Energy Scavenging

Author

Despesse, G. ; Chaillout, J.J. ; Jager, T. ; Cardot, F. ; Hoogerwerf, A.

Author_Institution

MINATEC, Grenoble

fYear

2007

fDate

10-14 June 2007

Firstpage

895

Lastpage

898

Abstract

In this paper we present a new type of electrostatic conversion microstructure dedicated to mechanical energy scavenging: a multigap comb fingers microstructure fabricated thanks to a nickel electro forming process in a silicon sacrificial mould. This structure provides repeatable capacitance variations allowing higher global conversion efficiency up to 70-80 %, and lower operating voltages (<50 V) opening the path to the integration of the management electronics. A complete, few mm³ in size, vibration micro power supply based on electrostatic transduction is now just a feet away.

Keywords

electroforming; electrostatic devices; micromechanical devices; electrostatic conversion microstructure; electrostatic transduction; management electronics; mechanical energy scavenging; multigap comb fingers microstructure; nickel electroforming process; silicon sacrificial mould; vibration micropower supply; Capacitance; Electrostatics; Fingers; Mechanical energy; Microstructure; Nickel; Power supplies; Silicon; Vibrations; Voltage; broadband vibrations energy scavenging; high efficiency electrostatic conversion;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference, 2007. TRANSDUCERS 2007. International

Conference_Location

Lyon

Print_ISBN

1-4244-0842-3

Electronic_ISBN

1-4244-0842-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SENSOR.2007.4300275

Filename

4300275