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Vibrational energy scavenging with Si technology electromagnetic inertial microgenerators

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Abstract

In this work, we present the design and optimization of an electromagnetic inertial microgenerator for energy scavenging applications, compatible with Si technology. It consists of a fixed micromachined coil and a movable magnet (inertial mass) mounted on a resonant structure (Kapton® membrane). The modeling of the device, based on a velocity damped resonator, has allowed to make a quantitative analysis of the capabilities of this simple device structure for the development of power generators for autonomous microsystem applications. The characterization of a first (not optimized) prototype has allowed the validation of the model, which is then used as a roadmap for a number of optimizations for the final device design. For this design, the model developed shows the possibility to achieve power levels up to hundreds of μW’s, with voltage levels compatible with the requirements of standard rectifying circuits.

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Acknowledgments

The funding of this work by the IST program of the European Commission under the SENSATION project (reference FP6-507231) is acknowledged by the authors from the University of Barcelona.

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Correspondence to Christophe Serre.

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Serre, C., Pérez-Rodríguez, A., Fondevilla, N. et al. Vibrational energy scavenging with Si technology electromagnetic inertial microgenerators. Microsyst Technol 13, 1655–1661 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-006-0338-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-006-0338-1

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