Energy Harvesting Through Sound

Energy Harvesting Through Sound For Nano-devices
1.INTRODUCTION
Energy harvesting[1] (also known as power harvesting or energy scavenging) is the process by which energy is derived from external sources (e.g., solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradients , and kinetic energy), captured, and stored for small, wireless autonomous devices, like those used in wearable electronics and wireless sensor networks. Energy harvesters provide a very small amount of power for low-energy electronics. While the input fuel to some large-scale generation costs money (oil, coal, etc.), the energy source for energy harvesters is present as ambient background and is free. In the search for alternating energy sources there is one form of energy we dont hear much about, which is ironic because I am referring to sound energy[2]. Sound energy is the energy produced by sound vibrations as they travel through a specific medium. Speakers use electricity to generate sound waves and here we use zinc oxide to do the reverse convert sound waves into electricity. The sound power can be used for various novel applications including mobile phones that can be charged during conversations and sound-insulating walls near highways that generate electricity from sound of passing vehicles Fig. 1 shows the most desirable thing that everyone has been waiting for is Yell at your cell phone to charge. Just imagine what an argument could the phrase Keep it quite, your battery will explode.. make.
Fig. 1. A lady yelling at cellphone.
Dept of ECE, CEC Page | 1
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1.1.
Piezoelectricity
Piezoelectricity[3] is the charge that accumulates in certain solid materials (notably crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA and various proteins) in response to applied mechanical stress. The word piezoelectricity means electricity resulting from pressure. It is derived from the Greek piezo or piezein , which means to squeeze or press, and electric orelectron , which stands for amber, an ancient source of electric charge. Piezoelectricity is the direct result of the piezoelectric effect. The piezoelectric effect is understood as the linear electromechanical interaction between the mechanical and the electrical state in crystalline materials with no inversion symmetry. The piezoelectric effect is a reversible process in that materials exhibiting the direct piezoelectric effect (the internal generation of electrical charge resulting from an applied mechanical force) also exhibit the reverse piezoelectric effect (the internal generation of a mechanical strain resulting from an applied electrical field). Piezoelectricity is found in useful applications such as the production and detection of sound, generation of high voltages, electronic frequency generation, microbalances, and ultrafine focusing of optical assemblies. Figures below shows a typical phenomenona of Piezoelectricity.
Fig. 1.1 a. No compression
Fig. 1.1 b. Small compression
Fig. 1.1 c. High compression
1.2.
Motivation
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The history of energy harvesting dates back to the windmill and the waterwheel[1]. People have searched for ways to store the energy from heat and vibrations for many decades. One driving force behind the search for new energy harvesting devices is the desire to power sensor networks and mobile devices without batteries. Energy harvesting is also motivated by a desire to address the issue of climate change and global warming. The sound that always exists in our everyday life and environments has been overlooked as a source[4]. This motivated us to realise power generation by turning sound energy from speech, music or noise into electrical power. There has been a lot of interest in making nanodevices, but we have tended not to think about how to power them. This nanogenerator allows us to harvest or recycle energy from many sources yo power these nanodevices.
1.3.
Nanogenerator
This sound-driven nanogenerator is based on piezoelecrtic ZnO nanowires[5]. This nanogenerator is integrated with piezoelectric ZnO nanowires and a cross-sectional fieldemission scanning electron microscopy image of vertically well-aligned ZnO nanowire arrays (acting as a piezoelectric active layer), respectively. The average length and diameter of ZnO nanowires were ~10 um and ~150 nm, respectively. This nanogenerator has the capability to generate 50 millivolts from sound with 100 decibles strenght or about the noise from heavy street traffic. Fig. 1.3 shows a typical schematic diagram of an integrated nanogenerator.
Fig. 1.3 Sound-driven nanogenerator with piezoelectric ZnO nanowires.
1.4.
Sapphire
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Sapphire[6] is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide (-Al2O3). Trace amounts of other elements such as iron,titanium, or chromium can give corundum blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange, or greenish color. Chromium impurities in corundum yield a red tint, and the resultant gemstone is called a ruby. Sapphires are commonly worn in jewelry. Sapphires can be found naturally, by searching through certain sediments (due to their resistance to being eroded compared to softer stones), or rock formations, or they can be manufactured for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires (and of aluminum oxide in general), sapphires are used in some non-ornamental applications, including infrared opticalcomponents, such as in scientific instruments; highdurability windows (also used in scientific instruments); wristwatch crystals and movement bearings; and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of very special-purpose solid-state electronics (most of which are integrated circuits).
2. APPROACHES AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
As there are a vast array of contending methods for harvesting energy, our aim is to harvest the energy from sound. And the idea is actually pretty simple, atleast on the paper[7]. When the sound waves hit an absorbing pad, they make the pad vibrate, and this is translated to tiny zinc oxide nanowires that are placed between two electrodes. The back and forth movement creates electricity, which in turn can be used for charging or supply for nanodevices, body implants.
2.1.
Approach to Development
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Figure 2.1 a and 2.1 b show a schematic diagram of an integrated nanogenerator with piezoelectric ZnO nanowires and a cross-sectional field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) image of vertically well-aligned ZnO nanowire arrays (acting as a piezoelectric active layer), respectively. Figure 2.2 shows the step by step process of development of nanogenerator. The nanowire were grown using a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system via a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism on an n-type GaN thin film (acting as a bottom electrode) deposited sapphire substrate[8].
Fig. 2.1 a. Schematic diagram of an integrated naogerator
Fig 2.1 b. FE-SEM image of ZnO nanowire arrays on a GaN/Sapphire substrate
A palladium gold (PdAu) coated polethersulfone (PES) substarte were used as both a top and a vibration plate and placed above the ZnO naowire arrays. The integrated device was then scaled at the edges to prevent physical and chemical damage. The average lenght and diameter of ZnO naowires were ~10 um and ~150 nm respectively. nanogenerator was then connected to a measurement system. The integrated
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2.2.
Step by step process of Development
Fig. 2.2 a. A sapphire substarate is taken (acting as the base substrate as bottom electrode)
Fig. 2.2 b. An n-type GaN thin film deposited.
Fig. 2.2 c. ZnO nanowires grown on type GaN thin film. The average length of nanowires ~ 10 electrode and vibration plate. gold (PdAu) to
Fig. 2.2 d. A polyethersulfone (PES) nsubstrate is coated with palladiumZnO be used as both a top
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Fig. 2.2 e. The coated PES substrate is placed Above ZnO nanowire arrays and scaled at the edges to prevent physical & chemical damages
Fig. 2.2.f. The integrated Nanogenerator subjecte a sound of ~ 100decible (10 -2 W m-2 at 100 Hz)
Fig. 2.2 Step by step process of Developement
2.3.
Growth Mechanism of Vertically Aligned ZnO Nanowire Arrays
Semiconducing nanowires possess many of the unique features required for potential applications in electrons and optoelectronics[9]. The controlled growth of one-dimensional (1-D) semiconductor nanostructures has recently been the focus of much attention. Researchers have employed various techniques to grow one-dimensional nano-structures, including bottom-up techniques such as the va-por-solid (VS) process and vapor-liquidsolid (VLS) process and top-down techniques, i.e., lithographic tech-niques. Other deposition techniques support the growth of nanostructures using grated substrates or embedded matrices. Still other techniques confine material to 1-D tubular structures or arrange granular material in a linear fash-ion. The VLS process, one of the methods frequently applied to grow 1-D ZnO nanostructures, was first described in 1965 for the Au-assisted growth of Si whiskers, and is currently a well-understood system. In this process, a metal liquid droplet serves as a preferential site
Dept of ECE, CEC Page | 7 2011-12
for absorbing the vapor reactant. Nanostructure growth begins when the droplet is supersaturated with the source material, and continues as long as the droplet remains in the liquid state and vapor is supplied. However, several investigations on this process have shown unexpected growth behaviors. The dynamic reshaping of catalyst particles during nanowire growth determines the length and shape of Si nanowires.
We synthesized ZnO nanowires in a low pressure vapor phase system consisting of a horizontal quartz tube in a conventional furnace, as schematically depicted in Fig. 2.3 a.
Fig. 2.3 a.
Schematic illustration of the horizontal furnace system for growing ZnO nanowire arrays. (1)Zn metal source; (2) substrate; (3) porous gas shower head distributor; (4) furnace; (5) quartz tube.
Commercially available high purity metallic zinc powder (Zn, 99.999%) and commercially available oxygen gas (O2,99.999%) were used as source materials for zinc and oxyen, respectively. The nanowires were grown on Si(100) substrates coated with Au thin film, which was deposited by electron beamevaporationmethod. When the Au coated Si(100) substrates were loaded into the furnace, the distance between the Zn source at the center and substrates located downstreamof the Ar ranged from2 to 5 cm. In a typical reaction process, approximately 2 g of Zn powder was placed in an alumina boat in the center of the quartz tube furnace. We used high purity argon gas (Ar, 99.999%) as the carrier gas, running it through a shower head distributor throughout the reaction process.
After loading the samples, the chamber pressure was pumped down to 10-3 Torr using
a rotary pump, and Ar gas was added at the desired growth temperature to drive out any remaining oxygen. The growth conditions were kept constant at 550 10 C and 100 Torr in the center of the furnace for the duration of the reaction process. Ar gas was used to carry Zn vapor onto the Au coated Si(100) substrates. When the temperature reached the processing temperature, O2 was introduced as the reactive gas at the flow rate of 10 sccm to grow ZnO nanowire arrays. After the desired growth was obtained, we allowed the furnace to cool down to room temperature and then characterized the products on the substrates in terms of their structural and optical properties. The morphologies of ZnO nanowire arrays grown on Au coated Si(100) substrate were examined using a FE-SEM, as Fig. 2.3 b indicates.
Fig 2.3 b. Tilted 45 degree view and cross-sectional SEM images of synthesized ZnO nanowires grown at 550 degree C for 1 hr on Au(5 nm)/Si(100) substrates with Ar flow rates of (a)-(b) 300 sccm and (c)-(d) 100 sccm. O2 flow rates were 10 sccm in both cases. The white arrow indicates the Au catalyst on the tip of ZnO nanowires (scale bar:(a)-(b) are 1m and (c)-(d) are 500 nm)
3. Operation and Observation

3.1.
Operation Mechanism
Sound is a regular mechanical vibration that travels through matter as a waveform[10]. Longitudinal sound waves (compression waves) transmitted through the ambient air are made up of waves of alternating pressure deviations from the equilibrium pressure, causing local regions of compression and rarefraction. When a sound wave strikes the PdAu-caoted flexible PES substrate acting as the top electrode, it causes the flexible substrate to vibrate. This mechanical vibration of the flexible substrate generated by the sound wave is directly transferred to the vertically aligned ZnO nanowires, causing compression and releasing of the nanowires. The power output mechanism of the sound-driven nanogenerator is based on the coupling of the piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of ZnO. The preferred c-axis alignment of ZnO nanowires leads to strong piezoelectric alignment with regard to the external force. The sound wave is used to vibrate the top contact electrode, which generates electric potential through the vertically well aligned ZnO nanowires in the direct compression mode. With a force applied in the direction parallel to the vertically aligned ZnO nanowires, the centers of mass of the positive and negative ions are shifted , resulting in polarization along this direction. The created piezoelectric potentials along individual nanowires have the same tendency of distribution because the ZnO nanowires are grown on the substrate with the preffered c-axis orientation. Under direct compression by the sound wave to the vertically aligned ZnO nanowires, a negative piezoelectric potential is generated on the top side while a positive piezoelectric potential is generated on the bottom side.
3.2.
Observation
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Figure 3.1 show plots of the input signal generating the sound wave and the output voltage obtained from the integrated nanogenerator.
Fig. 3.1 The input signal for the generation of a sound wave and output voltage from the piezoeletric ZnO nanowire arrays due to the sound wave The converted electrical energy from the sound wave was displayed on the oscilloscope as a voltage in the alternating current (AC) mode, following the frequency of the sound wave with the sinusodial mode electrical input with a small phase difference. This phase difference between the signals is due to the impedance of the intrinsic capacitance and reactance within the piezoelectric circuit. The intensity of the input sound was ~ 100 decible (dB) (10-2 W m-2 at 100 Hz), and the amplitude of the output voltage was ~50 mv.
3.3.
AC output Mode
As we have observed that the converted electrical energy from the sound wave was displayed on the oscilloscope as a voltage in the alternating current (AC) mode[11]. The AC output mode from the nanogenerator is due to the Schottky contact formation between the nanowires and the elkectrode, which acts as a capacitor. Schottky contact is the rectifying contact that occurs between a metal and a lightly doped semiconductor.
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The negative piezoelectric potential generated by the wave increases the conduction band and the fermi level at the top of the nanowires. Electrons then flow from the top electrode to the bottom side through the external circuit and the positive potential is generated around the top PdAu electrode (Figure 3.2 b)
Fig. 3.2 a. The generator with no sound wave application
Fig. 3.2 b. Electrons flow from the top electrode to the bottom side through the external circuit by the negative piezoelectric potential generated at the top side of the ZnO nanowires under direct compression by the sound wave. At this time, the positive potential is generated around the top PdAu electrode. The potential is kept since the Schottky contact hinders the electrons from being transported through the interface. The piezoelectric potential dissipates when the external pressure on the top PES substrate is momentrily removed in the rarefaction mode of the sound wave (compressive strain is released from the nanowires) (figure 3.2 c).
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Fig. 3.2 c.
The piezoelectric potential dissipates when the external pressure on the top
PES substrate is momentrily removed in the rarefraction mode of the sound wave. Electrons flow back via the external circuit till neutralizing the positive potential around the top electrode.
The electrons flow back via the external circuit till neutralizing the positive potential around the top electrode. These repeated cycles then result in the AC voltage pulses through the generator. The functional relationship of the parameters used in the sound-driven piezoelectric nanogenerator can be described as
Where, P,V and f are the power (which is defined as the input intensity of the sound wave multiplied by the surface area), the output voltage obtained from the nanogenerator, and the frequency of the applied sound wave, respectively. Under a fixed frequency (100 Hz), the V2 generated from the nanogenerator is propotional to the input power applied to the nanogenerator (Figure ). The V2 value is increased linearly within the intensity range of 0-3 m W m-2, which can be converted to a power ranging from 0-0.3 u W considering a device size of 1cm2. Above this range, V2 was saturated, possible due to limitation of energy conversion. When the input intensity of the sound wave was held constant at ~ 100 dB, V2 was linearly dependenet on the frequency of the applied sound wave (figure 3.3).
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Fig. 3.3 Output voltage vs. the input power of the applied sound wave under a fixed freuency of 100 Hz
These two relationships clearly supports the evidance that the piezoelectric output generated by the acoustic system follows piezoelectric-mechanical-acoustic energy conversion (i.e., piezoelectirc energy is transformed into the acoustic one via the mechanical vibration)[12].
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3.4.
Superposition
Further we performed a linear superposition test in which the two nanogenerators, Cell 1 and Cell 2, showed output voltage of 24 mv and 26 mv, respectively (Figure 3.4).
Fig. 3.4
Results of the Linear superposition tests.
In the linear superposition test, the output voltages of the nanogenerator were enhanced by connecting them in series. The output voltage of 52 mv is the approximate sum of the output voltage of individual nanogenerators. Therefore, these experimental results clearly support the hypothesis that the measured signal originated sound-driven piezoelectric nanogenerator rather than from the measurement system.
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3.5.
Photoluminescence
Figure 3.5 a. shows the room temperature photoluminescence (PL) of the ZnO nanowires in the nanogenerator used in this work. The predominant peak seen at 375 nm is usually attributed to the recombination of free exicition, while a broad deep level emission band with the relatively weak emission intensity was also observed at about 510 nm.
Fig. 3.5 a. Room-temperature PL spectrum of the ZnO nanowires In general, braod deep-level emission prevails over free exicition-related emission in the ZnO nanostructures. It is wellk known that deep-level emission is mainly due to states inthe band gap, which originates from defects such as zinc interstitials, oxygen vacancies, and their complexes in the nanostructures. It may be proposed that the realtively deep-level emission from our ZnO nanowires is due to formation of small number of point defect in the nanowires. Because the charged point defects acting as actiove carriers in ZnO nanowires speed up the rate at which the piezoelectric potential is screened[13]. It was concluded that our ZnO
nanowires with a small number of point defects grown on GaN with a negligibly low lattice mismatch to ZnO is very promissing for effectively generating piezoelectric potential in the nanowires due the mechnical stimuli of sound waves. It has been reported that the surface of the ZnO nanowires are apt to be covered with oxygen (O2) molecules, creating a depletion region. As a result, this not only decreaes the carrier density (due to the trapping of free electrons in the n-type ZnO nanowires), but also decreases the conductivity.
Fig. 3.5 b.
Behavior of the output voltage from the UV irradiated piezoelectric nanogenerators driven by sound waves
Under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, however, oxygen is able to detached, which results in increased conductance through nanowires. This is because the holes resulting from the electrons-holes pair generated by the UV light irradiation can migrate to the surface and recombination with O2- trapped electrons, causing their release. These electrons then contribute to the current, enhancing the conductivity of the nanowires. In addtion UV light irradiation generates photoexcited carries into ZnO nanowires with a direct band gap, resulting in increased free carrier concentration in the conductance band. Therefore, it is expected that it will be difficult to effectively generate piezoelectric potential in very conductive nanowires, which then cause a decrease in the output voltage of the piezoelectric nanogenerators driven by the sound waves when the ZnO nanowires are exposed to UV light irradiation (figure 3.5 b ). This result is additional evidence that the output voltage is due the piezoelectric potential generation under sound wave irradiation.
4. Experimental
Growth of ZnO nanowires on the GaN/Sapphire substrate : ZnO nanowires were thermally grown using a horizontal quartz tube by vaporizing mixed ZnO and Graphite (1:1) powder. The growth substrate used was GaN (2 um)/Sapphire on which 3 nm of an Au thin film catalist was deposited using thermal evaporator. The source powder and the Au-coated substrates were placed on the ceramic boat and then loaded at the center of the tube. The ZnO nanowires were synthesized at a temperature of 950 degree C for 20 min under Argon gas (50 sccm). Characterization: The morphological properties of the grown ZnO nanowires were examined by FE-SEM. The sound wave was generated by speaker and function generator and the intensity of the generated sound was measured by dB meter. The nanogenerator perfomance in the presence of sound wave was evaluated using an oscillioscope. PL measurements were conducted using He-Cd laser () for excitation.
5. Advantages
Sound that always exists in our everyday life and environments can be a great resource for energy, which can be harvested from the proposed nanogenerator. The main advantages of this proposed system are: 1. There has been a lot of interest in making nanodevices, but we have tended not to think about how to power them. This nanogenerator allows to harvest or recycle energy from many sources to power these devices.
2. This would be specially convinient for body implants, such as pacemaker, since
surgeries are now required to replace the dead batteries. It could replace those batteries with power directly harvested from the continual motion of the lungs. 3. This system can be used to harvest energy from our body motion such as walking, finger typing, or breathing.
6. Future Scopes
Since, at the present scenario the device (nanogenerator) is able to generate ~ 50 mv at ~100 dB of sound level, while normal conversation takes place at 60-70 dB. We know that 50 mv is not enough to charge a mobile phone, but it can surely support the life of battery. The advancement in the device can increase the output levels and hence can be used to charge mobile phones when you talk.
7. Conclusion
In summary, we demonstrated the sound-driven power generation using nanogenerators based on piezoelectric ZnO nanowires. The sound wave was used to vibrate the top contact electrode, which generated electric potential throught the vertical well-aligned ZnO nanowires in the direct compression mode. When sound with an intensity of ~ 100 dB applied to the nanogenerator, an AC output voltage of about 50 mv was obtained from the nanogenerator. Systematic investigation of the generated output voltage as a function of the input power and frequency of the applied sound wave, linear superposition tests, and the observation of output voltage drop with UV light irradiation applied to the nanogenerator clearly support the notion that the measured output voltage originated from the sounddriven nanogenerators. Therfore, our result suggest that sound can be one of promissing energy source with highly efficient generator based on piezoelectric nanowires.
8. REFERENCES
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[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/energy_harvesting [2] http://www.gizmag.com/mobiles-powered-by-conversation [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity [4] http://www.phonearena.com/news/scientist-harvesting-energy-from-sound [5] Seung Nam Cha, Ju-Seok Seo, Seong Min Kim, Hyun Jin Kim, Young Jun Park, Sangwoo Kim, and Jong Min Kim, Sound-driven Piezoelectric Nanowires-based Nanogenerator [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire [7] http:/www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=14653.php [8] S-D. Lee, Y.-S. Kim, M.-S. Yi, J.-Y. Choi, S.W. Kim, J. Phys. Chem. C 2009 [9] Yu-Tung Yin,Yen-Zhi Chen,Ching-Hsiang Chenb and Liang-Yih Chen, The Growth Mechanism of Vertically Aligned ZnO Nanowire Arrays on Non-epitaxial Si(100) Substrates, Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society, 2011, 58, 817-821 [10] Ju-Seok Seo, Seong Min Kim, Hyun Jin Kim, Young Jun Park, Sang-woo Kim, and Jong Min Kim, Sound-driven Piezoelectric Nanowires-based Nanogenerator [11] R. Yang, Y. Qin, C. Li, G. Zhu, X. D. Wang, Nano lett. 2009, 9, 1201 [12] S. Priya, D. J. Inman, Energy harvesting Technologies, Springer, New York 2009, p. 25. [13] J.Liu, P.Fei, J.H.Song, X. D. Wang, Nano lett. 2008,8, 328.
2011-12

Energy Harvesting Through Sound

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Energy Harvesting Through Sound For Nano-devices

Fig. 1. A lady yelling at cellphone.

Dept of ECE, CEC Page | 1