e explained by the growth of small-scale, low-power electronic devices, as well as the limitations of primary batteries that raise maintenance issues because of their limited lifespan and environmental problems due to their complex recycling process,” Lallart said. “Although the viability of self-powered systems has already been demonstrated, the functions of such devices are still limited by the available energy. Hence, the aim of research on energy harvesting is twofold. First, increasing the power output of microgenerators allows for implementing more functions in the self-powered device. Second, improvements in the conversion abilities of active materials would permit a significant reduction of the amount of material required to harvest a given amount of energy, allowing for the disposal of small-scale, embeddable devices.”
More information: Mickaël Lallart and Daniel Guyomar. “Piezoelectric conversion and energy harvesting enhancement by initial energy injection.” Applied Physics Letters 97, 014104 (2010). DOI: 10.1063/1.3462304
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