Nonlinear electromagnetic energy harvesters fabricated by rigid-flex printed circuit board technology

In this paper, a wideband electromagnetic energy harvester designed and fabricated by commercial rigid-flex PCB technology is demonstrated. The rigid FR-4 boards are used for mechanical frames and coil winding whereas the flexible polyimide film is used for mechanical springs and mass platforms. The total dimension of the device is 20 × 20 × 2 mm³. The internal coil resistance is 15 Ω. In vibration tests, nonlinearity can be observed even at 0.1 g vibration level due to the spring hardening effect. The peak frequency was increased as the vibration level increased. The effective bandwidth was increased from 6 Hz at 0.1 g to 21 Hz at 0.5 g and 27 Hz at 1 g, respectivel, due to the hysteresis effect. For a matched load and 1 g vibration at 240 Hz, the maximum output power is 24.5 nW, corresponding to a power density of 31 nW/cm³.