Amélioration des performances d'un moteur thermique à fluide auto-oscillant par la caractérisation du cycle thermodynamique et du changement de phase

L'objectif de cette thèse est de mieux comprendre les principes de fonctionnement d'un moteur thermique fluidique auto-oscillant (SOFHE) récemment découvert, en caractérisant le cycle thermodynamique (diagramme P-V) et le changement de phase (évaporation-condensation). Le SOFHE est proposé pour la récolte d'énergie thermique, couplé à un transducteur électromécanique, pour alimenter des capteurs sans fil utilisés dans l'Internet des objets (IoT). Le SOFHE est une bulle de vapeur piégée par un bouchon liquide (agissant comme un piston) dans un tube de petit diamètre. Cette bulle de vapeur-bouchon liquide est mise en oscillation par une évaporation-condensation cyclique d'une film liquide mince formée par une fibre de mèche. La première démonstration expérimentale du SOFHE a montré une faible puissance électrique de 1 µW. Cependant, on ne savait toujours pas comment le cycle thermodynamique inconnu de la SOFHE se comporte sous une charge et quelle densité de puissance mécanique la SOFHE peut générer. Pour répondre à cette question, le cycle thermodynamique et la densité de puissance de la SOFHE sont caractérisés expérimentalement pour la première fois sous une charge mécanique variable. La principale contribution de cette caractérisation est de fournir une base de référence pour l'adaptation de l'impédance qui est cruciale pour la conception d'une charge compatible pour la SOFHE. Il est également démontré que la densité de puissance mécanique de la SOFHE est de l'ordre de 0.5 milliwatts/cm3, ce qui en fait une solution prometteuse pour l'alimentation d'une gamme de capteurs sans fil dont la puissance requise est de l'ordre de 10s microwatt. Nous avons également étudié l'effet de la température de fonctionnement de la source de chaleur et de deux paramètres de conception, notamment la longueur de la fibre de mèche et la longueur du bouchon liquide, sur la puissance de la SOFHE. L'augmentation significative de la puissance en augmentant la longueur de la fibre a été la force motrice de la deuxième phase de notre étude dans laquelle nous avons caractérisé le profil de changement de phase complexe et inconnu (évaporation-condensation) de la SOFHE. Un nouveau dispositif a été conçu pour visualiser la variation du film mince autour de la fibre lorsque nous avons joué sur sa longueur à l'intérieur de la zone de vapeur. Les observations ont prouvé notre hypothèse de la formation de coins capillaires entre la fibre et la paroi interne du tube qui pompent le liquide du liquide vers la zone de vapeur. Cela conduit à la formation d'un film mince avec une très faible résistance thermique qui alimente l'évaporation. Le taux de variation de la masse de vapeur, appelé taux de changement de phase, est également mesuré. Il est démontré que pour maximiser l'amplitude de l'oscillation et, par conséquent, la puissance du SOFHE, l'amplitude du taux de changement de phase doit augmenter et être complètement déphasée par rapport à la position. Un nombre sans dimension est également proposé pour évaluer l'efficacité du profil du taux de changement de phase. Enfin, pour mieux contrôler le changement de phase, une nouvelle conception de la SOFHE est proposée et démontrée dans laquelle nous pouvons intégrer des structures de mèche sur mesure pour imiter l'effet de la fibre insérée. Le dispositif est un microcanal à section carrée avec des angles aigus et un chemin capillaire gravé sur la paroi inférieure qui est fabriqué par un procédé standard de microfabrication. Il est démontré que l'amplitude et, par conséquent, la puissance de la SOFHE augmente (multiplication par cinq de 30 à 150 µw/ cm3) avec l'ajout d'un chemin capillaire. Cela ouvre une nouvelle voie vers l'ingénierie du changement de phase de la SOFHE en concevant différentes structures de mèche pour améliorer les performances de la SOFHE.Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to better understand the working principles of a recently discovered self-oscillating fluidic heat engine (SOFHE) by characterizing the thermodynamic cycle (P-V diagram) and phase change (evaporation-condensation). The SOFHE is proposed for thermal energy harvesting, coupled with an electromechanical transducer, for powering wireless sensors used in the Internet of Things (IoT). The SOFHE is a vapor bubble trapped by a liquid plug (acting as a piston) in a small diameter tube. This vapor bubble-liquid plug is set in oscillations by a cyclic evaporation-condensation of a thin liquid film formed by a wicking fiber. The first experimental demonstration of the SOFHE showed a low electrical power of 1 μW. However, it is still unclear how the unknown thermodynamic cycle of the SOFHE behaves under a load and how much mechanical power density the SOFHE can generate. To address this question, the thermodynamic cycle and power density of the SOFHE are experimentally characterized for the first time under a varying mechanical load. The main contribution of this characterization is to provide a baseline for impedance matching that is crucial for designing a compatible load for the SOFHE. It is also shown that the mechanical power density of the SOFHE is in the range of milliwatts/cm3 (maximum 0.5 mW/cm3) which makes it a promising solution to power a range of wireless sensors with a power requirement of tens of microwatt. We also studied the effect of the operating heat source temperature and two design parameters, including the length of the wicking fiber and the length of the liquid plug on the power of SOFHE. The significant increase of the power by increasing the fiber length was the driving force behind the second phase of our study in which we characterized the complex and unknown phase change profile (evaporation-condensation) of the SOFHE. A new setup was designed to visualize the variation of the thin film around the fiber as we played with its length inside the vapor zone. The observations proved our hypothesis of forming capillary corners between the fiber and the inner wall of the tube that pumps liquid from the liquid plug toward the vapor zone. This leads to the formation of a thin film with a very small thermal resistance that feeds evaporation. The rate of change of mass of vapor, the so-called phase change rate, is also measured. It is shown that to maximize the amplitude of the oscillation and consequently the power of the SOFHE, the amplitude of the phase change rate should increase and be completely out of phase with the position. A dimensionless number is also proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of the phase change rate profile. Finally, to better control the phase change, a new design of the SOFHE is proposed in which we can integrate tailored wicking structures to mimic the effect of the inserted fiber. The device is a square cross-section microchannel with sharp corners as well as an etched capillary path on the bottom wall that is fabricated by a standard microfabrication process. It is shown that the amplitude and consequently the power of SOFHE increase (a fivefold increase from 30 to 150 μw/ cm3) as we add a capillary path. This opens a new path towards engineering the phase change of the SOFHE by designing different wicking structures to improve its performance

Inductively Coupled CMOS Power Receiver For Embedded Microsensors

Inductively coupled power transfer can extend the lifetime of embedded microsensors that save costs, energy, and lives. To expand the microsensors' functionality, the transferred power needs to be maximized. Plus, the power receiver needs to handle wide coupling variations in real applications. Therefore, the objective of this research is to design a power receiver that outputs the highest power for the widest coupling range. This research proposes a switched resonant half-bridge power stage that adjusts both energy transfer frequency and duration so the output power is maximally high. A maximum power point (MPP) theory is also developed to predict the optimal settings of the power stage with 98.6% accuracy. Finally, this research addresses the system integration challenges such as synchronization and over-voltage protection. The fabricated self-synchronized prototype outputs up to 89% of the available power across 0.067%~7.9% coupling range. The output power (in percentage of available power) and coupling range are 1.3× and 13× higher than the comparable state of the arts.Ph.D

Micromechanics for energy generation

The emergence and evolution of energy micro-generators during the last two decades has delivered a wealth of energy harvesting powering solutions, with the capability of exploiting a wide range of motion types, from impulse and low frequency irregular human motion, to broadband vibrations and ultrasonic waves. It has also created a wide background of engineering energy microsytems, including fabrication methods, system concepts and optimal functionality. This overview presents a simple description of the main transduction mechanisms employed, namely the piezoelectric, electrostatic, electromagnetic and triboelectric harvesting concepts. A separate discussion of the mechanical structures used as motion translators is presented, including the employment of a proof mass, cantilever beams, the role of resonance, unimorph structures and linear/rotational motion translators. At the mechanical-to-electrical interface, the concepts of impedance matching, pre-biasing and synchronised switching are summarised. The separate treatment of these three components of energy microgenerators allows the selection and combination of different operating concepts, their co-design towards overall system level optimisation, but also towards the generalisation of specific approaches, and the emergence of new functional concepts. Industrial adoption of energy micro-generators as autonomous power sources requires functionality beyond the narrow environmental conditions typically required by the current state-of-art. In this direction, the evolution of broadband electromechanical oscillators and the combination of environmental harvesting with power transfer operating schemes could unlock a widespread use of micro-generation in microsystems such as micro-sensors and micro-actuators

A Novel Micro Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting System

(Doktora) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2007(PhD) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2007Bu tezde yeni bir titreşim temelli mikro enerji harmanlayıcı sistemi önerilmiştir. Titreşimler ve ani hareketler, mekanik yapının sadece eğilmesine değil aynı zamanda gerilmesine yol açar, bu sayede sistem doğrusal olmayan bölgede çalışır. İnce piezoelektrik film tabakası mekanik stresi elektrik enerjisine çevirir. Mikrowatt mertebesinde güç seviyeleri mm3’lük aletlerle elde edilebilir, bu da güneş panellerinde elde edilen güç yoğunlukları kadar yüksektir. Algılayıcı kabiliyeti sayesinde bilgi depolayabilen, kum tanesi büyüklüğünde olan ve üretiminde kullanılan temel malzeme silikon olan bu aletler “zeki kum” olarak isimlendirilmiştir. Mekanik yapının modellenmesi ve tasarımı geliştirilmiş ve üretim sonuçları da ayrıca verilmiştir. Sistemin bilgi gönderebilmesi ve alabilmesi amacıyla iyi bilinen RFID teknolojisi tabanlı bir kablosuz haberleşme yöntemi önerilmiştir. Bu bağlamda, paket taşımacılığında sürekli ivme denetleme, sınır güvenliği için kendinden beslemeli algılayıcılar, çabuk bozulan yiyeceklerin taşımacılığında sıcaklık denetleme ve pilsiz kalp atışı algılayıcı gibi birçok uygulama önerilmiştir.In this thesis, a novel, vibration based micro energy harvester system is proposed. Vibrations or sudden movements cause the mechanical structure does not only bend but also stretch, thus working in non-linear regime. The piezoelectric thin film layer converts the mechanical stress into the electrical energy. Microwatts of power can be achieved with a mm3 device which yields a high power density levels on the order of the solar panels. This device is named “smart sand”, because it has also sensor capabilities that can store information, its size is almost a sand grain and the main material used for the fabrication is silicon. The modeling and design of the mechanical structure has been developed and fabrication results have also been given in the thesis. In order for the system to send and receive the information, a wireless communication scheme is proposed which is based on the well-known RFID technology. In this concept, several applications are proposed such as continuous acceleration monitoring in package delivery, self-powered sensors for homeland security, temperature monitoring of the perishable food item delivery and a batteryless heart rate sensor.DoktoraPh

Simultaneous Wireless Power Transmission and Data Communication

RÉSUMÉ : Le développement rapide des systèmes électroniques sans fil de faible consommation de puissance a conduit à d'innombrables activités de recherche dans le cadre de la faisabilité d'une alimentation à distance ou sans fil de ces systèmes. Par conséquent, la transmission d'énergie sans fil (WPT), qui est développé comme une technique prometteuse pour alimenter les appareils électroniques à longue distance et permettre la conception et le développement de systèmes auto-alimentés, est devenue un centre d'intérêt depuis de nombreuses années. Les antennes de redressement connues sous le nom de rectennas, sont les éléments les plus importants de transmission à longue portée d'énergie sans fil. L'efficacité de rectennas dépend essentiellement de leurs antennes et les circuits redresseurs associés. Par conséquent, pour concevoir une antenne redresseuse à haut rendement qui garantit la qualité d'un système WPT, plus d'attention devrait être concentré sur l’étude, l'analyse et le développement des antennes à gain élevé et redresseurs à haute efficacité de conversion RF-DC. Dans la littérature, différentes configurations de circuit antenne redresseuse, opérant principalement à basse fréquence tels que 2,45 GHz et 5,8 GHz, ont été largement étudiés. Cependant, il existe quelques études rapportées à la fréquence à ondes millimétriques, bien que les avantages de plus petite taille et l'efficacité du système global plus élevée pour la transmission à longue distance peuvent être obtenus à la fréquence à ondes millimétriques. D'autre part, les circuits rectennas peuvent tout simplement récupérer l'énergie, mais ils ne peuvent pas décoder le signal transmis à des fins de communication. Cependant, la transmission de données est une condition essentielle dans les systèmes de communication sans fil. Par conséquent, si la capacité de détection et de traitement du signal peut être ajoutée à une architecture de rectenna, alors, un récepteur de communication sans fil transmettant simultanément de l'énergie et de données peut être réalisé. La réalisation d'un tel système peut être considérée comme une approche prometteuse pour la prochaine génération de systèmes de communication auto-alimentés. Cette thèse de doctorat vise à examiner et à démontrer un système de transmission d'énergie sans fil et également un récepteur avec la capacité de récupérer l’énergie et de données de communication simultanément fonctionnant aux fréquences à ondes millimétriques. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, différentes structures de circuit redresseurs sont étudiés, conçus et mesurés expérimentalement.----------ABSTRACT The rapid development of low power wireless electronic systems has led to countless research activities in connection with the feasibility of a remote or wireless powering of those systems. Therefore, wireless power transmission (WPT) has become a focal point of interest since many years, which is being developed as a promising technique, for powering electronic devices over distance and for enabling the design and development of self-powered systems. The rectifying antennas known as rectennas are the most important elements in long-range wireless power transmission. The efficiency of rectennas mainly depends on their antennas and the related rectifier circuits. Therefore, to design a high-efficiency rectenna that guarantees the quality of a WPT system, more focus should be concentrated on the investigation, analysis and development of high-gain antennas and performance-driven rectifiers with reference to high RF-to-DC conversion efficiency. In the literature, different configurations of rectenna circuit, mainly operating at low frequency such as 2.45 GHz and 5.8 GHz, have been widely investigated. However, there are just a few reported studies at millimeter-wave frequency although the advantages of more compact size and higher overall system efficiency for long distance transmission can be obtained at millimeter-wave frequency. On the other hand, rectenna circuits can just scavenge energy and they cannot decode the transmitted signal for communication purpose. However, the data transmission is an essential requirement of wireless communication systems. Therefore, if the ability of signal detection and processing can be added to a rectenna architecture then a receiver with simultaneous wireless power transmission and data communication can be realized. The realization of such a system can be considered as a promising approach for the next generation of self-powered communication systems. This PhD dissertation aims to investigate and demonstrate a system of wireless power transmission and also a receiver with the capability of simultaneous wireless energy harvesting and data communication operating at up-microwave and millimeter-wave frequency

Energy harvesting from body motion using rotational micro-generation

Autonomous system applications are typically limited by the power supply operational lifetime when battery replacement is difficult or costly. A trade-off between battery size and battery life is usually calculated to determine the device capability and lifespan. As a result, energy harvesting research has gained importance as society searches for alternative energy sources for power generation. For instance, energy harvesting has been a proven alternative for powering solar-based calculators and self-winding wristwatches. Thus, the use of energy harvesting technology can make it possible to assist or replace batteries for portable, wearable, or surgically-implantable autonomous systems. Applications such as cardiac pacemakers or electrical stimulation applications can benefit from this approach since the number of surgeries for battery replacement can be reduced or eliminated. Research on energy scavenging from body motion has been investigated to evaluate the feasibility of powering wearable or implantable systems. Energy from walking has been previously extracted using generators placed on shoes, backpacks, and knee braces while producing power levels ranging from milliwatts to watts. The research presented in this paper examines the available power from walking and running at several body locations. The ankle, knee, hip, chest, wrist, elbow, upper arm, side of the head, and back of the head were the chosen target localizations. Joints were preferred since they experience the most drastic acceleration changes. For this, a motor-driven treadmill test was performed on 11 healthy individuals at several walking (1-4 mph) and running (2-5 mph) speeds. The treadmill test provided the acceleration magnitudes from the listed body locations. Power can be estimated from the treadmill evaluation since it is proportional to the acceleration and frequency of occurrence. Available power output from walking was determined to be greater than 1mW/cm³ for most body locations while being over 10mW/cm³ at the foot and ankle locations. Available power from running was found to be almost 10 times higher than that from walking. Most energy harvester topologies use linear generator approaches that are well suited to fixed-frequency vibrations with sub-millimeter amplitude oscillations. In contrast, body motion is characterized with a wide frequency spectrum and larger amplitudes. A generator prototype based on self-winding wristwatches is deemed to be appropriate for harvesting body motion since it is not limited to operate at fixed-frequencies or restricted displacements. Electromagnetic generation is typically favored because of its slightly higher power output per unit volume. Then, a nonharmonic oscillating rotational energy scavenger prototype is proposed to harness body motion. The electromagnetic generator follows the approach from small wind turbine designs that overcome the lack of a gearbox by using a larger number of coil and magnets arrangements. The device presented here is composed of a rotor with multiple-pole permanent magnets having an eccentric weight and a stator composed of stacked planar coils. The rotor oscillations induce a voltage on the planar coil due to the eccentric mass unbalance produced by body motion. A meso-scale prototype device was then built and evaluated for energy generation. The meso-scale casing and rotor were constructed on PMMA with the help of a CNC mill machine. Commercially available discrete magnets were encased in a 25mm rotor. Commercial copper-coated polyimide film was employed to manufacture the planar coils using MEMS fabrication processes. Jewel bearings were used to finalize the arrangement. The prototypes were also tested at the listed body locations. A meso-scale generator with a 2-layer coil was capable to extract up to 234 µW of power at the ankle while walking at 3mph with a 2cm³ prototype for a power density of 117 µW/cm³. This dissertation presents the analysis of available power from walking and running at different speeds and the development of an unobtrusive miniature energy harvesting generator for body motion. Power generation indicates the possibility of powering devices by extracting energy from body motion

Fast-waking and low-voltage thermoelectric and photovoltaic CMOS chargers for energy-harvesting wireless microsensors

The small size of wireless microsystems allows them to be deployed within larger systems to sense and monitor various indicators throughout many applications. However, their small size restricts the amount of energy that can be stored in the system. Current microscale battery technologies do not store enough energy to power the microsystems for more than a few months without recharging. Harvesting ambient energy to replenish the on-board battery extend the lifetime of the microsystem. Although light and thermal energy are more practical in some applications than other forms of ambient energy, they nevertheless suffer from long energy droughts. Additionally, due to the very limited space available in the microsystem, the system cannot store enough energy to continue operation throughout these energy droughts. Therefore, the microsystem must reliably wake from these energy droughts, even if the on-board battery has been depleted. The challenge here is waking a microsystem directly from an ambient source transducer whose voltage and power levels are limited due to their small size. Starter circuits must be used to ensure the system wakes regardless of the state of charge of the energy storage device. The purpose of the presented research is to develop, design, simulate, fabricate, test and evaluate CMOS integrated circuits that can reliably wake from no energy conditions and quickly recharge a depleted battery. Since the battery is depleted during startup, the system must use the low voltage produced by the energy harvesting transducer to transfer energy. The presented system has the fastest normalized wake time while reusing the inductor already present in the battery charger for startup, therefore, minimizing the overall footprint of the system.Ph.D

Development of MEMS Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesters with Wafer-Level Integrated Tungsten Proof-Mass for Ultra Low Power Autonomous Wireless Sensors

La génération d’énergie localisée et à petite échelle, par transformation de l’énergie vibratoire disponible dans l’environnement, est une solution attrayante pour améliorer l’autonomie de certains noeuds de capteurs sans-fil pour l’Internet des objets (IoT). Grâce à des microdispositifs inertiels résonants piézoélectriques, il est possible de transformer l’énergie mécanique en électricité. Cette thèse présente une étude exhaustive de cette technologie et propose un procédé pour fabriquer des microgénérateurs MEMS offrant des performances surpassant l’état de l’art. On présente d’abord une revue complète des limites physiques et technologiques pour identifier le meilleur chemin d’amélioration. En évaluant les approches proposées dans la littérature (géométrie, architecture, matériaux, circuits, etc.), nous suggérons des métriques pour comparer l’état de l’art. Ces analyses démontrent que la limite fondamentale est l’énergie absorbée par le dispositif, car plusieurs des solutions existantes répondent déjà aux autres limites. Pour un générateur linéaire résonant, l’absorption d’énergie dépend donc des vibrations disponibles, mais aussi de la masse du dispositif et de son facteur de qualité. Pour orienter la conception de prototypes, nous avons réalisé une étude sur le potentiel des capteurs autonomes dans une automobile. Nous avons évalué une liste des capteurs présents sur un véhicule pour leur compatibilité avec cette technologie. Nos mesures de vibrations sur un véhicule en marche aux emplacements retenus révèlent que l’énergie disponible pour un dispositif linéaire résonant MEMS se situe entre 30 à 150 Hz. Celui-ci pourrait produire autour de 1 à 10 μW par gramme. Pour limiter la taille d’un générateur MEMS pouvant produire 10 μW, il faut une densité supérieure à celle du silicium, ce qui motive l’intégration du tungstène. L’effet du tungstène sur la sensibilité du dispositif est évident, mais nous démontrons également que l’usage de ce matériau permet de réduire l’impact de l’amortissement fluidique sur le facteur de qualité mécanique Qm. En fait, lorsque l’amortissement fluidique domine, ce changement peut améliorer Qm d’un ordre de grandeur, passant de 103 à 104 dans l’air ambiant. Par conséquent, le rendement du dispositif est amélioré sans utiliser un boîtier sous vide. Nous proposons ensuite un procédé de fabrication qui intègre au niveau de la tranche des masses de tungstène de 500 μm d’épais. Ce procédé utilise des approches de collage de tranches et de gravure humide du métal en deux étapes. Nous présentons chaque bloc de fabrication réalisé pour démontrer la faisabilité du procédé, lequel a permis de fabriquer plusieurs prototypes. Ces dispositifs ont été testés en laboratoire, certains démontrant des performances records en terme de densité de puissance normalisée. Notre meilleur design se démarque par une métrique de 2.5 mW-s-1/(mm3(m/s2)2), soit le meilleur résultat répertorié dans l’état de l’art. Avec un volume de 3.5 mm3, il opère à 552.7 Hz et produit 2.7 μW à 1.6 V RMS à partir d’une accélération de 1 m/s2. Ces résultats démontrent que l’intégration du tungstène dans les microgénérateurs MEMS est très avantageuse et permet de s’approcher davantage des requis des applications réelles.Small scale and localized power generation, using vibration energy harvesting, is considered as an attractive solution to enhance the autonomy of some wireless sensor nodes used in the Internet of Things (IoT). Conversion of the ambient mechanical energy into electricity is most often done through inertial resonant piezoelectric microdevices. This thesis presents an extensive study of this technology and proposes a process to fabricate MEMS microgenerators with record performances compared to the state of the art. We first present a complete review of the physical and technological limits of this technology to asses the best path of improvement. Reported approaches (geometries, architectures, materials, circuits) are evaluated and figures of merit are proposed to compare the state of the art. These analyses show that the fundamental limit is the absorbed energy, as most proposals to date partially address the other limits. The absorbed energy depends on the level of vibrations available, but also on the mass of the device and its quality factor for a linear resonant generator. To guide design of prototypes, we conducted a study on the potential of autonomous sensors in vehicles. A survey of sensors present on a car was realized to estimate their compatibility with energy harvesting technologies. Vibration measurements done on a running vehicle at relevant locations showed that the energy available for MEMS devices is mostly located in a frequency range of 30 to 150 Hz and could generate power in the range of 1-10 μW per gram from a linear resonator. To limit the size of a MEMS generator capable of producing 10 μW, a higher mass density compared to silicon is needed, which motivates the development of a process that incorporates tungsten. Although the effect of tungsten on the device sensitivity is well known, we also demonstrate that it reduces the impact of the fluidic damping on the mechanical quality factor Qm. If fluidic damping is dominant, switching to tungsten can improve Qm by an order of magnitude, going from 103 to 104 in ambient air. As a result, the device efficiency is improved despite the lack of a vacuum package. We then propose a fabrication process flow to integrate 500 μm thick tungsten masses at the wafer level. This process combines wafer bonding with a 2-step wet metal etching approach. We present each of the fabrication nodes realized to demonstrate the feasibility of the process, which led to the fabrication of several prototypes. These devices are tested in the lab, with some designs demonstrating record breaking performances in term of normalized power density. Our best design is noteworthy for its figure of merit that is around 2.5 mW-s-1/(mm3(m/s2)2), which is the best reported in the state of the art. With a volume of 3.5 mm3, it operates at 552.7 Hz and produces 2.7 μW at 1.6 V RMS from an acceleration of 1 m/s2. These results therefore show that tungsten integration in MEMS microgenerators is very advantageous, allowing to reduce the gap with needs of current applications

Nonlinear mechanics and nonlinear material properties in micromechanical resonators

Microelectromechanical Systems are ubiquitous in modern technology, with applications ranging from accelerometers in smartphones to ultra-high precision motion stages used for atomically-precise positioning. With the appropriate selection of materials and device design, MEMS resonators with ultra-high quality factors can be fabricated at minimal cost. As the sizes of such resonators decrease, however, their mechanical, electrical, and material properties can no longer be treated as linear, as can be done for larger-scale devices. Unfortunately, adding nonlinear effects to a system changes its dynamics from exactly-solvable to only solvable in specific cases, if at all. Despite (and because of) these added complications, nonlinear effects open up an entirely new world of behaviors that can be measured or taken advantage of to create even more advanced technologies. In our resonators, oscillations are induced and measured using aluminum nitride transducers. I used this mechanism for several separate highly-sensitive experiments. In the first, I demonstrate the incredible sensitivity of these resonators by actuating a mechanical resonant mode using only the force generated by the radiation pressure of a laser at room temperature. In the following three experiments, which use similar mechanisms, I demonstrate information transfer and force measurements by taking advantage of the nonlinear behavior of the resonators. When nonlinear resonators are strongly driven, they exhibit sum and difference frequency generation, in which a large carrier signal can be mixed with a much smaller modulation to produce signals at sum and difference frequencies of the two signals. These sum and difference signals are used to detect information encoded in the modulation signal using optical radiation pressure and acoustic pressure waves. Finally, in my experiments, I probe the nonlinear nature of the piezoelectric material rather than take advantage of the nonlinear resonator behavior. The relative sizes of the linear and nonlinear portions of the piezoelectric constant can be determined because the force applied to the resonator by a transducer is independent of the dielectric constant. This method allowed me to quantify the nonlinear constants