Piezo Energy Harvester Delivers Record Power Output

Dubbed a first, the company’s piezoelectric harvesting device fabricated with MEMS technology generates a record of 85 μW of electrical power from vibrations. Employing a wafer-level packaging method, the harvester powers a wireless sensor node that operates in conjunction with a temperature sensor that can wirelessly transmit data in a fully autonomous way. The component uses cost-effective, CMOS-compatible MEMS processes on 6’ silicon wafers and consists of a Si mass suspended on a beam with aluminum nitride as piezoelectric material. By changing the dimensions of the beam and mass, users can tailor the resonant frequency for any value in the 150 to 1,200 Hz range. IMEC INC., San Jose, CA. (408) 551-4502.