A Wideband Magnetic Frequency Up‐Converter Energy Harvester

Abstract

Many sensor applications require small and non-invasive methods of powering, such as marine animal tracking and implantable healthcare monitoring. In such cases, energy harvesting can be a viable solution. Vibrational energy harvesting is abundantly available in the environment.These vibrations usually are low in frequency and amplitude. Conventional vibrational harvesters convert the environmental vibrations into electrical signals; however, they suffer from low voltage outputs and narrow bandwidths, limiting the harvesting to a small range of frequencies. In this work, a new mechanical harvester is introduced using a magnetic frequency up-converter. It is implemented using attractive-force magnetic coupling between a soft magnet and a permanent magnet to convert low-frequency vibrations into high-frequency pulses.Combined with a piezoelectric generator, the harvester generates a high output voltage for an extended bandwidth of operation. The proposed harvester shows a 50.15% increase in output voltage at the resonant frequency (12.2 Hz), resulting in 14.79 V at 1.0 g, with a maximum peak voltage of 16.28 V. The bandwidth of operation ranges from 10.77 Hz to 22.16 Hz (11.39 Hz), which compared to a single-beam harvester shows an increase of 3250% of the bandwidth, where the average power is greater for 92.56% of this bandwidth.

A PMNN‐PZT Piezoceramic Based Magneto‐Mechano‐Electric Coupled Energy Harvester

“…This result is also one to two orders of magnitude higher than that of previously reported MMEC‐EHs. [ 38–41 ]…”