Design of piezoelectric energy harvesting structures using ceramic and polymer materials

Piezoelectric sensors are designed in this work to power implantable medical devices (IMDs). A prosthetic hand is used as the IMD in this study. E, pi, and T piezoelectric structures are designed using five ceramic (PZT-5H, PZT-4D, BaTiO3, ZnO, and GaAs) and five polymer (Hytrel 3078, polyetherimide [ULTEM 2100], polyoxymethylene [POM], polyvinylenedifluoride [PVDF, Kynar 710], and Elvax 260) materials. Further analysis is carried out using square and rectangular-shape proof masses under different load conditions. This study aims to determine the maximum power that can be used from the piezoelectric harvester to supply energy to a medical device, such as the prosthetic hand. Structure and material analyses showed that the maximum power generated by the E structure using ceramic material (PZT-5H) with rectangular-shape proof mass ensures the efficient powering of the IMD. The simulation is carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.3a software.