Traineeship Electrostatic Energy Harvester

At imec, Micropower systems

At Holst Centre research on autonomous wireless sensor nodes is performed. An important element to guarantee autonomy is the energy harvester. Generating energy from vibrations is an efficient harvesting method for many applications, e.g. in the field of industrial monitoring and predictive maintenance.  The mechanical energy available in vibrations can be transformed into electrical energy by an electrostatic transduction method. In electrostatic transducers, the distance or overlap of two electrodes of a polarized capacitor changes due to the movement or vibrations of one moveable electrode. This motion causes a voltage change across the capacitor and results in a current flow in an external circuit. The devices are fabricated with MEMS processing and have dimension ranging from 0.1 up to 1 cm². For further improvement of the devices a thorough characterization by measurements and modeling is needed.

Topics of investigation during this assignment:

• Characterization of electrostatic energy harvesters on a shaker setup (laboratory setup to mimic vibrations). The power output of the devices needs to be investigated as function of frequency, acceleration, polarization voltage and impedance. Also the effect of damping (e.g. structural, air damping) is an important parameter in maximizing the power output and needs to be looked into.
• Modeling of the electrostatic energy harvester to understand the influence of design parameters (dimensions of mass, spring and electrodes) on the power output. Together with the measurement results this can be used to improve the design of the energy harvester
• To polarize the variable capacitor a voltage source or a static charge like an electret can be used. We investigate the possibilities of an electret as polarization source for our harvesters and characterization of these electrets will be part of the assignment.

We are looking for an enthusiastic master student preferably with a background in physics, mechanical or electrical engineering. The traineeship will take place at the Holst Centre located at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.

For all inquiries, please contact:

Ms Sandra Maas, Management Assistant Human Resources.
Telephone number: +31 (0)40 40 20 500.

Application form