Optimal design of piezoelectric materials and devices for energy harvesting

Piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs) have received considerable attention as an enabling technology for self-powered wireless sensor networks. However, the biggest challenge with PVEHs has been their insufficient power generation for practical applications, which necessitates creative and disruptive materials and structure design on various scales. In this work, a model-based design study is performed that includes structural, materials, and device-level power optimizations of PVEHs. The optimization results help in understanding the behavior of the device performance, such as voltage and power, when the devices are optimized under various operating conditions, including input operating frequencies and mechanical damping. Furthermore, the optimization provides both an optimal device design scheme for power improvement and a better understanding of the correlation between the material property and the energy-harvesting output performance.