Piezoelectric performance of a symmetrical ring-shaped piezoelectric energy harvester using PZT-5H under a temperature gradient

Abstract

With the rapid development of microelectronics technology, low-power electronic sensors have been widely applied in many fields, such as Internet of Things, aerospace, and so on. In this paper, a symmetrical ring-shaped piezoelectric energy harvester (SR-PEH) is designed to provide energy for the sensor to detect the ambient temperature. The finite element method is used by utilizing software COMSOL 5.4, and the electromechanical coupling model of the piezoelectric cantilever is established. The output performance equations are proposed; the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) integration process of the SR-PEH, circuit, and sensor is stated; and the changing trend of the output power density is explained from an energy perspective. In the logarithmic coordinate system, the results indicate that the output voltage and output power are approximately linear with the temperature when the resistance is constant. In addition, the growth rate of the output voltage and output power decreases with an increase of resistance under the condition of constant temperature. In addition, with an increase of temperature, the growth rate of the output power is faster than that of the output voltage. Furthermore, resistance has a more dramatic effect on the output voltage, whereas temperature has a more significant effect on the output power. More importantly, the comparison with the conventional cantilever-shaped piezoelectric energy harvester (CC-PEH) shows that the SR-PEH can improve the output performance and broaden the frequency band.