Infrared signal transmission by a laser-micromachined, vibration-induced power generator

Abstract

Presents the development of a vibration-induced power generator with total volume of /spl sim/1cm/sup 3/ that uses laser-micromachined springs to convert mechanical energy into useful electrical power. The goal of this project is to create a minimally sized electric power generator capable of producing enough voltage to drive low-power ICs and/or micro sensors for applications where mechanical vibrations are present. Thus far, we have developed a generator capable of producing 2V DC with 64Hz to 120Hz input frequency at /spl sim/250/spl mu/m vibration amplitude. We have also demonstrated that this generator has enough power to drive an IR transmitter to send 140ms pulse trains with /spl sim/60sec power generation time.