Mems-based pzt/pzt bimorph thick film vibration energy harvester

We describe fabrication and characterization of a significantly improved version of a MEMS-based PZT/PZT thick film bimorph vibration energy harvester with an integrated silicon proof mass. The main advantage of bimorph vibration energy harvesters is that strain energy is not lost in mechanical support materials since only PZT is strained, and thus it has a potential for significantly higher output power. An improved process scheme for the energy harvester resulted in a robust fabrication process with a record high fabrication yield of 98.6%. Moreover, the robust fabrication process allowed a high pressure treatment of the screen printed PZT thick films prior to sintering, improving the PZT thick film performance and harvester power output reaches 37.1 μW at 1 g.