Mechanical Rectifier for Broadband Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesting and Self-Adapting Synchronous Electric Charge Extraction

The synchronized switch interface circuit is believed to boost piezoelectric power generation. The threshold voltage of electronic components causes rectification loss and delay in peak detection. This work reports a novel design of a mechanical rectification (MR) piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (MR-PVEH). Compact and low-loss MR is achieved by the double switch with five electrodes contact at the cantilever tip. The switch as a mechanical stopper also contributes to broadband performance. The saturation voltage and response frequency range can be adjusted in the modeling and simulation of nonlinear electromechanical coupling vibration. Self-adapting MR-optimized synchronous electric charge extraction (M-OSECE) circuit is also proposed with fewer electronic components in this article and shows an extra 60% increase in generated power than the traditional standard energy harvesting circuit (SEH) in the test. This novel design gives a promising solution for self-adapting synchronous switching in broadband piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting.