Investigation of a resonance microgenerator

Abstract

Microgenerators that could extract energy from the environment would be very attractive for powering some types of microsystems. One approach uses a mechanical resonant element to transfer seismic vibrations into useful motion. A novel configuration for an electromagnetic microgenerator and an electrostatic microgenerator has been modelled and confirmed by experiments at a small macroscopic scale. This design allows the possibility of a 'stacked' array to increase the output. However it is concluded, as with other studies, that few applications are plausible with the outputs that can be achieved. A power output of 6 nW is predicted for a typical single-element electromagnetic microgenerator but at a very low voltage. The electrostatic form delivers more useful voltage but, at the small scale, its reactive impedance is much too high for useful power delivery.