Over the years, there has been a growing interest in the field of power harvesting technologies for low-power electronic devices such as wireless sensor networks and biomedical sensor applications. Of all possible energy sources, the mechanical vibrations have been considered a potential choice for power harvesting in a wide variety of applications. This paper presents the development of a piezoelectric MEMS generator which has the ability to scavenge mechanical energy of ambient vibrations from their surroundings and transform it into electrical energy that can be used in sensor applications. The piezoelectric MEMS generator comprises a beam structure with laminated lead zirconate titanate (Pb(Zr,Ti)O_3, PZT) material sandwiched between the upper and the lower electrodes to transform mechanical strain energy into electrical charge. A proof mass is built at the end of the beam to adjust the structure resonant frequency of the piezoelectric MEMS generator for most adaptable to the ambient vibration of their surroundings. To improve the piezoelectric MEMS generator fabrication process, a self-made PZT deposition chamber which could deposit PZT thin film up to tens micron in minutes was used to deposit the piezoelectric layer on the beam structure of the piezoelectric MEMS generator. A feasibility study of the piezoelectric MEMS generator is performed and the some test results will also be presented.
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