Using polymers and flexible substrates in energy harvesting and MEMS sensors – Université de Sherbrooke
Distributed and embedded wireless sensors offer the promise of connecting the physical and cyber worlds and allow the next major phase in information and communication technologies, the Internet of Things. However, the limitations of batteries to power these sensor nodes hinders the deployment of pervasive sensing. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technologies offer an alternative approach to traditional batteries by creating microsystems for power generation and energy harvesting from the ambient. Recently, power MEMS have been increasingly been implemented using polymers or on flexible substrates, instead of traditional silicon. The presentation will discuss the needs for wireless sensors and the state of research in power MEMS, focusing on our work in thermal, chemical, and mechanical energy conversion at small scale using polymers and flexible substrates. These include micro heat engine technologies based on oscillating membranes and pulsating flow driven from waste heat.
MEMS sensors have also been developed on flexible substrates for applications requiring large deformation. Flexible load sensors and vibration energy harvesting for intelligent tires will be presented, showing the opportunities and requirements in this area.