Rectification Methods to Increase Harvested Energy in Vibration Generation Using Piezoelectric Elements

Abstract

We studied vibration power generation using piezoelectric elements in order to determine effective rectification methods to increase harvested energy from vibration power generation systems. First, we experimentally clarified the output characteristics of two kinds of passive rectification methods for vibration power generation systems. Then, an appropriate rectification method for various kinds of loads was studied. In order to increase the harvested power from an integrated vibration power generation system with multiple piezoelectric elements, we considered an appropriate circuit structure for connecting multiple piezoelectric elements. The effectiveness was verified experimentally.