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J. Iannacci, G. Sordo, E. Serra, M. Kucera, U. Schmid:
"Experimental Verification of a Novel MEMS Multi-Modal Vibration Energy Harvester for Ultra-Low Power Remote Sensing Nodes";
Talk: Smart Sensors, Actuators and MEMS VII 2015, Barcelona, Spain; 05-04-2015 - 05-06-2015; in: "Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9517-9520", SPIE, 9517 (2015), ISSN: 0277-786x; Paper ID 95171T, 10 pages.

In this work, we discuss the verification and preliminary experimental characterization of a
MEMS-based vibration Energy Harvester (EH) design. The device, named Four-Leaf Clover (FLC),
is based on a circular-shaped mechanical resonator with four petal-like mass-spring cascaded
systems. This solution introduces several mechanical Degrees of Freedom (DOFs), and therefore
enables multiple resonant modes and deformation shapes in the vibrations frequency range of
interest. The target is to realize a wideband multi-modal EH-MEMS device, that overcomes the
typical narrowband working characteristics of standard cantilevered EHs, by ensuring flexible and
adaptable power source to ultra-low power electronics for integrated remote sensing nodes (e.g.
Wireless Sensor Networks - WSNs) in the Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, aiming to self-powered
and energy autonomous smart systems. Finite Element Method simulations of the FLC EH-MEMS
show the presence of several resonant modes for vibrations up to 4-5 kHz, and level of converted
power up to a few μW at resonance and in closed-loop conditions (i.e. with resistive load). On the
other hand, the first experimental tests of FLC fabricated samples, conducted with a Laser Doppler
Vibrometer (LDV), proved the presence of several resonant modes, and allowed to validate the
accuracy of the FEM modeling method. Such a good accordance holds validity for what concerns the
coupled field behavior of the FLC EH-MEMS, as well. Both measurements and simulations
performed at 190 Hz (i.e. out of resonance) showed the generation of power in the range of nW
(Root Mean Square - RMS values). Further steps of this work will include the experimental
characterization in a full range of vibrations, aiming to prove the whole functionality of the FLC
EH-MEMS proposed design concept.

In this work, we discuss the verification and preliminary experimental characterization of a
MEMS-based vibration Energy Harvester (EH) design. The device, named Four-Leaf Clover (FLC),
is based on a circular-shaped mechanical resonator with four petal-like mass-spring cascaded
systems. This solution introduces several mechanical Degrees of Freedom (DOFs), and therefore
enables multiple resonant modes and deformation shapes in the vibrations frequency range of
interest. The target is to realize a wideband multi-modal EH-MEMS device, that overcomes the
typical narrowband working characteristics of standard cantilevered EHs, by ensuring flexible and
adaptable power source to ultra-low power electronics for integrated remote sensing nodes (e.g.
Wireless Sensor Networks - WSNs) in the Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, aiming to self-powered
and energy autonomous smart systems. Finite Element Method simulations of the FLC EH-MEMS
show the presence of several resonant modes for vibrations up to 4-5 kHz, and level of converted
power up to a few μW at resonance and in closed-loop conditions (i.e. with resistive load). On the
other hand, the first experimental tests of FLC fabricated samples, conducted with a Laser Doppler
Vibrometer (LDV), proved the presence of several resonant modes, and allowed to validate the
accuracy of the FEM modeling method. Such a good accordance holds validity for what concerns the
coupled field behavior of the FLC EH-MEMS, as well. Both measurements and simulations
performed at 190 Hz (i.e. out of resonance) showed the generation of power in the range of nW
(Root Mean Square - RMS values). Further steps of this work will include the experimental
characterization in a full range of vibrations, aiming to prove the whole functionality of the FLC
EH-MEMS proposed design concept.

Energy Harvesting (EH), MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical-Systems), Microsystems, Vibrations, Multi-modal resonator, Wideband EH, Internet of Things (IoT), Ultra-low power smart and integrated remote sensing nodes

http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2177669