Theoretical analysis of energy harvesting performance for unimorph piezoelectric benders with interdigitated electrodes

Abstract

A great amount of research has been done to develop piezoelectric material-based energy harvesting devices as power generators for a variety of portable and low power consuming devices. Among the possibilities for energy harvesters, the 31 type cantilever piezoelectric benders have generally been used. In this work a unimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam with an interdigitated electrode pattern was examined. The focus of this paper is to develop a model and propose design parameters to improve the energy generating performance of the interdigitated piezoelectric energy harvester. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.