Silicon-integrated electrostatic energy harvesters

Electrostatic-based power generation is an attractive alternative to piezoelectric and electromagnetic techniques, as it can be integrated in mainstream silicon technologies while providing higher power densities through miniaturization. However, at present, the power output of reported electrostatic micro-generators does not meet the communication and computation requirements of wireless sensor nodes. This paper presents an overview of electrostatic vibration-based energy harvesting. The challenges in designing the MEMS-based energy harvester are discussed together with the control and interface circuits to guide the transfer of charge/energy to a reservoir unit.