Recent Developments In the Field of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting & Advanced MEMS : An Overview

The study of power harvesting has had substantial increase over the past few years due to the ever-increasing desire to develop portable and wireless electronic with extended life. Current portable and wireless devices must be planned to include electrochemical batteries as the power source. The usage of batteries can be troublesome due to their limited lifespan, thus calling for their periodic replacement. Energy scavenging devices are planned to capture the ambient energy surrounding the electronics and convert it into useable electrical energy. The concept of power harvesting works towards developing self-powered devices that do not require replaceable power supplies. A number of sources of harvestable ambient energy exist, including waste heat, vibration, electromagnetic waves, wind, running water, and solar energy. While each of these origins of vitality can be effectively applied to power remote sensors, the structural and biological communities have put an emphasis on scavenging vibration energy with piezoelectric materials. Piezoelectric energy harvesters generate electricity depending on the quantity of power used in compressing or deforming the fabric, the quantity and character of distortion of the material's crystal structure and the speed or frequency of compressions or vibrations to the fabric. There are more than 200 appropriate materials which need careful selection for the special application. This article will survey recent literature in the area of piezoelectric power harvesting and present the current country of power harvesting in its campaign to create completely self-powered devices and micro electro mechanical systems.