The book provides an overview of current advances in materials and technology research in energy harvesting. It covers smart materials for solar cells, piezoelectric, and thermoelectric applications as well as the design of highly efficient microsystems. The book features contributions from international researchers in both academics and industry in these disciplines.
Energy harvesting is the capture of external energy from various natural sources, which is then stored and used for numerous applications. This research area has been gaining a lot of interest and research momentum in the past decade. This book covers this field from a materials and device perspective, with resulting technologies capable of enabling low-power implantable sensors or large-scale electrical grids.
The book presents contributed chapters on three categories of energy technology: solar or photovoltaic, piezoelectric, and thermoelectric. It examines solar technologies with high efficiency but lower cost than existing silicon-based photovoltaics. It also covers novel piezoelectric technologies, which harness mechanical energy from vibrations and pressure to produce electrical energy, from materials and device design perspectives. In addition, the book explores the ability to harness thermal energy and temperature profiles with thermoelectric materials. Chapters also cover the design, implementation, and components of energy efficient electronics.
Preface
Part I : Solar Cells and Photovoltaics
Chapter 1 : Innovating for a Greener Tomorrow
Chapter 2 : Polymer Solar Cells : A Complementary Energy Source For Low Power Consumption Electronics
Chapter 3 : Organic Solar Cells
Part II : Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
Chapter 4 : Piezoelectric Thin Films and Their Application to Vibration Energy Harvesters
Chapter 5 : MEMs Energy Harvesting
Part III : Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting
Chapter 6 : Energy Harvesting : Thermoelectric and Microsystems Perspective and Opportunities
Chapter 7 : Thermopower Waves : A New Technology for Miniaturized Power Sources
Part IV : Energy Harvesting Microsystems
Chapter 8 : Energy-Harvesting Integrated Circuits
Chapter 9 : Wireless Power Harvesting
Chapter 10 : Low-Power Energy Harvesting Solutions for Novel Smart Sensors
Chapter 11 : Energy Harvesting using Graphene Ultracapacitors
Index
