Design and fabrication of a micro electrostatic vibration-toelectricity energy converter

Abstract

This paper presents a micro electrostatic vibration-to-electricity energy converter. For the 3.3 V supply voltage and 1 cm(2) chip area constraints, optimal design parameters were found from theoretical calculation and Simulink simulation. In the current design, the output power is 200 mu W/cm(2) for the optimal load of 8 M Omega. The device was fabricated in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. Mechanical and electrical measurements were conducted. Residual particles caused shortage of the variable capacitor and the output power could not be measured. Device design and fabrication processes are being refined.