Fabrication and characterisation of bulk micromachined ZnO energy transducer with interdigitated electrodes

The proposed research work deals with the design, fabrication and characterisation of a ZnO cantilever energy transducer on Si(c) without the use of SOI wafers, thereby, reducing the cost of fabrication. The energy transducer is operated in the longitudinal mode through the interdigitated electrodes. This is for the first time, we have attempted to fabricate a cantilever transducer with interdigitated electrodes on Si(c) in our lab. The design frequency has been chosen in the range of 700–1000 Hz for a typical tire pressure monitoring system application in mind. The experimentally obtained frequency is 876.25 Hz and d33 was calculated as 3.9 pC/N from the measurements. The experimental results are further validated by simulation and the feasibility of its application as energy harvester is demonstrated. The fabrication process is being optimised to fabricate devices with higher piezoelectric coefficients.

[1]  Anis Nurashikin Nordin,et al.  Fabrication of aluminium doped zinc oxide piezoelectric thin film on a silicon substrate for piezoelectric MEMS energy harvesters , 2012 .

[2]  Hejun Du,et al.  A ZnO thin-film driven microcantilever for nanoscale actuation and sensing , 2013 .

[3]  Takayuki Shibata,et al.  Characterization of sputtered ZnO thin film as sensor and actuator for diamond AFM probe , 2002 .

[4]  Guo-Hua Feng,et al.  Development of wide frequency range-operated micromachined piezoelectric generators based on figure-of-merit analysis , 2008 .

[5]  Jung-Hyun Park,et al.  Comparison of MEMS PZT Cantilevers Based on $d_{31}$ and $d_{33}$ Modes for Vibration Energy Harvesting , 2013, Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.

[6]  Ervin Kamenar,et al.  Load optimised piezoelectric generator for powering battery-less TPMS , 2013, Microtechnologies for the New Millennium.

[7]  C. Chao,et al.  Residual stresses and mechanical properties of a ZnO pyroelectric sensor , 2009 .

[8]  C. Bowen,et al.  Energy Harvesting Technologies for Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems , 2015 .

[9]  Chun Zhang,et al.  Battery-less piezoceramics mode energy harvesting for automobile TPMS , 2009, 2009 IEEE 8th International Conference on ASIC.

[10]  Kyle Jiang,et al.  Efficiency Enhancement of a Cantilever-Based Vibration Energy Harvester , 2013, Sensors.

[11]  Ann Marie Sastry,et al.  Powering MEMS portable devices—a review of non-regenerative and regenerative power supply systems with special emphasis on piezoelectric energy harvesting systems , 2008 .

[12]  Jung-Hyun Park,et al.  Development of MEMS piezoelectric energy harvesters , 2010 .

[13]  Yilong Hao,et al.  The compatibility of ZnO piezoelectric film with micromachining process , 2003 .

[14]  Sang-Gook Kim,et al.  MEMS power generator with transverse mode thin film PZT , 2005 .

[15]  B. Auld,et al.  Acoustic fields and waves in solids , 1973 .

[16]  Siamak Arzanpour,et al.  Energy Harvesting From Pneumatic Tires Using Piezoelectric Transducers , 2008 .

[17]  H. Du,et al.  Deposition, characterization and optimization of zinc oxide thin film for piezoelectric cantilevers , 2012 .

[18]  M. DePaz.  Processing and characterization of zinc oxide thin fi lms , 2007 .

[19]  Henry A. Sodano,et al.  A review of power harvesting using piezoelectric materials (2003–2006) , 2007 .

[20]  Kyle Jiang,et al.  A Comprehensive Study on Technologies of Tyre Monitoring Systems and Possible Energy Solutions , 2014, Sensors.

[21]  G. Pharr,et al.  An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments , 1992 .

[22]  Othman Sidek,et al.  Vibration-based MEMS Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for Power Optimization , 2013, 2013 UKSim 15th International Conference on Computer Modelling and Simulation.

[23]  Daniel J. Inman,et al.  Energy Harvesting Technologies , 2008 .

[24]  V. Bhatt,et al.  Feasibility study of RF sputtered ZnO film for surface micromachining , 2005 .

[25]  William W. Clark,et al.  MEMS interdigitated electrode pattern optimization for a unimorph piezoelectric beam , 2011 .

[26]  Shad Roundy,et al.  ENERGY HARVESTING FOR TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS , 2008 .

[27]  Adam Olzick.  Deposition, Characterization, and Fabrication of a Zinc Oxide Piezoelectric Thin Film Microspeaker Using DC Reactive Sputtering , 2012 .

[28]  M. Massi,et al.  Wide bandgap semiconductor thin films for piezoelectric and piezoresistive MEMS sensors applied at high temperatures: an overview , 2014 .

[29]  D. Polla,et al.  Properties of piezoelectric thin films for micromechanical devices and systems , 1991, [1991] Proceedings. IEEE Micro Electro Mechanical Systems.

[30]  S. Beeby,et al.  Energy harvesting vibration sources for microsystems applications , 2006 .

[31]  J. Park,et al.  Modeling and Characterization of Piezoelectric $d_{33}$ -Mode MEMS Energy Harvester , 2010, Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.

[32]  Saibal Roy,et al.  A micro electromagnetic generator for vibration energy harvesting , 2007 .