Electromechanical Modeling and Simulation of MEMS-Based Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesting Device Using PZT-5H Material

Abstract

In this study, we describe the operation of piezoelectric energy converters and electromechanical modeling of piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) devices based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for low-power sensors. Consideration is given to a piezoelectric energy harvester based on standard MEMS. The parameters are determined and optimized using a simple MEMS cantilever model. On top of a Brass substrate, the model uses a single layer of piezoelectric material. We utilized the finite element method (FEM) models created with software tools NanoHUB and COMSOL to analyze the electromechanical behavior of MEMS-based piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) devices. The electromechanical modeling was applied to predict the modal and harmonic response of the PEH devices. By using a modal analysis, the resonant frequencies are 182 Hz for the FEM models of the PZT-5H PEH device through NanoHUB and COMSOL. The simulated MEMS can provide a voltage between 1.7 and 1.9 mV, 0.074 µW of output power. The produced voltage and output power may be increased by connecting the piezoelectric layers in parallel and series. And the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors might be driven by this array of devices.