Comparison of PZN-PT, PMN-PT single crystals and PZT ceramic for vibration energy harvesting

Zhengbao Yang, Jean Zu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

167 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vibration energy harvesting has a great potential to achieve self-powered operations for wireless sensors, wearable devices and medical electronics, and thus has attracted much attention in academia and industry. The majority of research into this subject has focused on the piezoelectric effect of synthetic materials, especially the perovskite PZT ceramics. Recently the new-generation piezoelectric materials PMN-PT and PZN-PT single crystals have gained significant interest because of their outstanding piezoelectric properties. They can be used to replace the widely-adopted PZT ceramics for improving energy harvesters' performance substantially. However, there is little research on comparing PMN-PT and PZN-PT energy harvesters against PZT harvesters. In this paper, we present a systematic comparison between vibration energy harvesters using the PMN-PT, PZN-PT single crystals and those using the PZT ceramics. Key properties of the three materials are summarized and compared. The performance of the PMN-PT and PZN-PT energy harvesters is characterized under different conditions (beam length, resistance, frequency, excitation strength, and backward coupling effect), and is quantitatively compared with the PZT counterpart. Furthermore, the effect of the synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI) circuit on the three harvesters is discussed. The experimental results indicate that energy harvesters using the PMN-PT and PZN-PT single crystals can significantly outperform those using the PZT ceramics. This study provides a strong base for future research on high-performance energy harvesters using the new PMN-PT and PZN-PT single crystals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)321-329
Number of pages9
JournalEnergy Conversion and Management
Volume122
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Aug 2016

Keywords

  • Efficiency
  • Energy harvesting
  • Piezoelectric
  • SSHI
  • Single crystal
  • Vibration

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Comparison of PZN-PT, PMN-PT single crystals and PZT ceramic for vibration energy harvesting'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this