Non-conventional energy sources using piezoelectric crystal for wearable electronics

Limited storage capacity of battery constricts the usefulness of most high technology devices such as cell phones, computers, and sensors. In the future, these limitations will become more pronounced as the demand for wireless power outpaces battery development which is already at its best. Thus, we need to come up with new power generation techniques which will be used as an energy source for the next generation of wearable computers, wireless sensors, and autonomous systems. Piezoelectric materials nowadays play a major role in the so called smart materials because of their ability to couple mechanical and electrical properties. The direct piezoelectric effect is that these materials, when subjected to mechanical stress, generate an electric charge proportional to that stress. The inverse piezoelectric effect is that these materials become strained when an electric field is applied, the strain again being proportional to the applied field. Piezoelectric materials are generally used as sensors and actuators. Piezoelectric energy generation at the sub-micron-scale have infinite scope for research and application in upcoming technologies. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental analysis to generate non-conventional energy using piezoelectric crystals to power wearable devices.