Self-powered generator, method of fabricating the same and piezoelectric enery-harvesting device using the generator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9929336-B2
Application number	US-201414261604-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2014
Priority date	Dec 31, 2013
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

A self-powered generator is provided. The generator includes a piezoelectric nanorod member layer that includes a first layer; a second layer; and a plurality of piezoelectric nanorods disposed between the first and second layers. The piezoelectric nanorod is a biaxially-grown nanorod. When mechanical energy is applied from an outside, an upper half and a lower half of each of the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods generate piezoelectric potentials having opposite polarities, the upper half and the lower half being on both sides of a longitudinal axis along an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A self-powered generator comprising a piezoelectric nanorod member layer that comprises:
a first layer;
a second layer; and
a plurality of piezoelectric nanorods disposed between the first and second layers,
wherein each of the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods is a biaxially-grown nanorod,
wherein when mechanical energy is applied from an outside, an upper half and a lower half of each of the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods generate piezoelectric potentials having opposite polarities, the upper half and the lower half being on both sides of a longitudinal axis along an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and
wherein the first and second layers are made of a dielectric material, which has a dielectric constant, is able to transfer the mechanical energy applied from the outside to the piezoelectric nanorods, and is able to transfer the piezoelectric potential generated from the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods to surfaces of the first and second layers, and wherein the first and second layers are flexible.

2. The self-powered generator according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods are arrayed unidirectionally between the first and second layers.

3. The self-powered generator according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods are arrayed such that a longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to a bending direction of the self-powered generator.

4. The self-powered generator according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods are arrayed unidirectionally to form a single layer between the first and second layers.

5. The self-powered generator according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second layers are made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

6. The self-powered generator according to claim 1 , wherein, the generator comprises a plurality of the piezoelectric nanorod member layers which are stacked one on another.

7. The self-powered generator according to claim 6 , wherein a voltage and current generated from the generator increase as the number of the piezoelectric nanorod member layers increases.

8. A piezoelectric energy-harvesting device comprising:
a piezoelectric nanorod member layer that comprises a first layer;
a second layer; and
a plurality of piezoelectric nanorods disposed between the first and second layers; and
electrode layers formed on surfaces of the first and second layers,
wherein each of the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods is a biaxially-grown nanorod,
wherein when mechanical energy is applied from an outside, an upper half and a lower half of each of the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods generate piezoelectric potentials having opposite polarities, the upper half and the lower half being on both sides of a longitudinal axis along an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and
wherein the first and second layers are made of a dielectric material, which has a dielectric constant, is able to transfer the mechanical energy applied from the outside to the piezoelectric nanorods, and is able to transfer the piezoelectric potential generated from the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods to surfaces of the first and second layers, and wherein the first and second layers are flexible.

9. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 8 , wherein the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods are arrayed unidirectionally between the first and second layers.

10. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 9 , wherein the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods are arrayed such that a longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to a bending direction of the piezoelectric energy-harvesting device.

11. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 8 , wherein the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods are arrayed unidirectionally to form a single layer between the first and second layers.

12. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 8 , further comprises a plurality of the piezoelectric nanorod member layers.

13. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 12 , wherein a voltage and current generated from the generator increase as the number of the piezoelectric nanorod member layers increases.

14. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of piezoelectric nanorod member layers are connected in series.

15. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 8 , wherein the plurality of biaxially grown piezoelectric nanorods are fabricated by hydrothermal synthesis.

16. The piezoelectric energy-harvesting device according to claim 8 , wherein the first and second layers are made of PDMS.

Assignees

• Ind Academic Cooperation Foundation Yonsei Unversity
• Univ Yonsei Iacf

Inventors

• Baik Hong Koo
• Myong Jae Min
• Jang Woo Soon
• Lee Tae Il

Classifications

• H01L41/113 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H02N2/18 Primary

  producing electrical output from mechanical input, e.g. generators (for measurement devices G01) · CPC title

• H01L41/31

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y10T29/42

  Piezoelectric device making · CPC title

• B82Y15/00

  Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors · CPC title