A vibration energy harvester based on Ca3TaGa3Si2O14 piezoelectric crystal for high temperature applications

Abstract

In the past two decades, piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs) have attracted considerable attention as an effective technology for replacing the batteries in self-power wireless sensor networks. However, because of the low Curie temperature limitations of piezoelectric materials, conventional PVEHs can only be used in low-temperature environments. In this paper, we report a PVEH for high temperature (HT) applications using Ca3TaGa3Si2O14 piezoelectric crystals. We investigated how the electromechanical performance of the device varied with temperature, from room temperature (RT) to 800 °C. Our research showed that the HT PVEH produced a steady output under a constant mechanical excitation. Furthermore, we found that the optimal output power at 350 °C was approximately four times higher than that at RT (25 °C). The results demonstrate that the proposed PVEH has great potential for applications as a self-power source in high temperature wireless sensors.