1st Edition

Energy Harvesting with Functional Materials and Microsystems

    290 Pages 127 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    290 Pages 127 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    For decades, people have searched for ways to harvest energy from natural sources. Lately, a desire to address the issue of global warming and climate change has popularized solar or photovoltaic technology, while piezoelectric technology is being developed to power handheld devices without batteries, and thermoelectric technology is being explored to convert wasted heat, such as in automobile engine combustion, into electricity.

    Featuring contributions from international researchers in both academics and industry, Energy Harvesting with Functional Materials and Microsystems explains the growing field of energy harvesting from a materials and device perspective, with resulting technologies capable of enabling low-power implantable sensors or a large-scale electrical grid.

    In addition to the design, implementation, and components of energy-efficient electronics, the book covers current advances in energy-harvesting materials and technology, including:

    • High-efficiency solar technologies with lower cost than existing silicon-based photovoltaics
    • Novel piezoelectric technologies utilizing mechanical energy from vibrations and pressure
    • The ability to harness thermal energy and temperature profiles with thermoelectric materials

    Whether you’re a practicing engineer, academician, graduate student, or entrepreneur looking to invest in energy-harvesting devices, this book is your complete guide to fundamental materials and applied microsystems for energy harvesting.

    Preface

    The Editors

    The Contributors

    Powering Microsystems with Ambient Energy
    Gabriel Alfonso Rincon-Mora

    Low-Power Energy Harvesting Solutions for Biomedical Devices
    Jordi Colomer-Farrarons, Pere Ll. Miribel-Catala, E. Juanola-Feliu, and J. Samitier

    Energy Harvesting: Thermoelectric and Microsystems Perspective and Opportunities
    Terry J. Hendricks

    Thermopower Wave-Based Micro- and Nanoscale Energy Sources
    Sumeet Walia and Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh

    Polymer Solar Cell: An Energy Source for Low-Power Consumption Electronics
    Badr Omrane, Sasan V. Grayli, Vivien Lo, Clint Landrock, Siamack V. Grayli, Jeydmer Aristizabal, Yindar Chuo, and Bozena Kaminska

    Inverted Organic Solar Cells
    Purna P. Maharjan and Qiquan Qiao

    Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cell Optimization and Modeling
    Joanne Huang and Victor Moroz

    Piezoelectric Thin Films and Their Application to Vibration Energy Harvesters
    Isaku Kanno

    Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesters: Modeling, Design, Limits, and Benchmarking
    A. Dompierre, S. Vengallatore, and L. G. Frechette

    Index

    Biography

    Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran holds a BE, MEng, and Ph.D from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. The recipient of the Australian Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship 2010-2013 currently serves as senior research fellow and joint leader of the RMIT University Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group. In 2011, she received worldwide media coverage for her use of in situ nanoindentation in characterizing the nanoscale piezoelectric energy generation properties of thin films. She has published 80 peer-reviewed publications, including 50 journal articles over the last five years.

    Dr. Sharath Sriram holds a Ph.D from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Recipient of the Australian Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship 2011-2014, he is senior research fellow and joint leader of the RMIT University Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group. The highly decorated Dr. Sriram has published in leading nanoscience journals and received over $1.4 million in research and infrastructure funding over the last three years. His expertise includes the synthesis and characterisation of functional thin films, underpinned by skills in microelectronic fabrication techniques.

    Dr. Krzysztof (Kris) Iniewski is managing R&D at Redlen Technologies Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a leading manufacturer of high resolution cadmium zinc telluride semiconductor radiation detectors. He is also president of CMOS Emerging Technologies Research Inc., Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, an organization hosting high-tech events on communications, microsystems, optoelectronics, and sensors. A popular speaker and consultant, he has published over 100 research papers, written and edited several books, and held faculty and management positions at University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; and PMC-Sierra Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

    "… provides an excellent overview of recent research advances using materials and systems for energy harvesting. … begins with a well-written review on the present approaches and circuit designs for energy harvesting, storage, and use. … There are many examples of functional devices with application data, graphs, and engineering equations to help the reader develop his own energy-harvesting device. … engineers interested in developing new sensors, communication links, and low-power electronic devices, and students in mechanical, electrical, and materials science, would find this book a great way to learn quickly about energy-harvesting technology and a starting point for developing new ideas."
    —John J. Shea, Eaton Corporation, Moon Township, Pennsylvania, USA, from IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, May/June 2015

    "Featuring contributions from international researchers in both academics and industry, Energy Harvesting with Functional Materials and Microsystems explains the growing field of energy harvesting from a materials and device perspective, with resulting technologies capable of enabling low-power implantable sensors or a large-scale electrical grid."
    IEEE Microwave Magazine, June 2014