Nonlinear restoring force of spring with stopper for ferroelectric dipole electret-based electrostatic vibration energy harvesters

Previously, we succeeded in developing a new electret [termed a ferroelectric dipole electret (FDE)] having an extremely high electric field using a polarized ferroelectric material. However, the pull-in, in which an oscillator sticks to the FDE under its strong electrostatic force, poses a problem for practical vibration energy harvesters. In this study, we propose use of nonlinear restoring force of a spring with a stopper in order to prevent pull-in for FDE-based vibration energy harvesters. The spring with a stopper was designed using a finite element method (FEM) analysis such that the restoring force of the spring will exceed the electrostatic force of the FDE. The proposed harvester combines the FDE and the spring successfully, and generated electricity without the pull-in. It also showed the highest figure of merit of output power and wide frequency band when compared with other available electret-based vibration energy harvesters. (C) 2016 Author(s).