Design of Flexible FeCoSiB/ZnO Thin-Film Multiferroic Module for Low-Frequency Energy Harvesting

Yan Guo, Chen Yang and Bin Huang ()
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Yan Guo: College of Science & Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315300, China
Chen Yang: Piezoelectric Device Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Bin Huang: Piezoelectric Device Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: Multiphase magnetoelectric (ME) composites deposited on flexible substrates have been widely studied, which can respond to ambient mechanical, magnetic, and electric field excitations. This paper reports an investigation of flexible FeCoSiB/ZnO thin-film generators for low-frequency energy harvesting based on three substrates. Both hard substrate Si and flexible substrates (Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polyimide (PI)) are adopted to make a comparison of energy conversion efficiency. For the single ME laminate, a PET-based flexible ME generator presents the best ME coupling performance with an average coupling voltage output of ~0.643 mV and power output of ~41.3 nW under the alternating magnetic field of 40 Oe and 20 Hz. The corresponding ME coupling coefficient reaches the value of 321.5 mV/(cm·Oe) for this micrometer scale harvester. Flexible ME modules with double cantilevered ME generators are further designed and fabricated. When two PET-based generators are connected in series, the average voltage output and power are ~0.067 mV and ~0.447 nW, respectively. Although the energy harvested by ME thin-film generators is much smaller than bulk multiferroic materials, it proves the feasibility of using flexible FeCoSiB/ZnO generators for harvesting ambient magnetic energy and supplying sustainable electronic devices in the future.

Keywords: magnetoelectric coupling; flexible; thin-film; energy harvesting; low frequency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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