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Tutorials Micro-Optic and Fiber Optic Sensors Terahertz Sensing Noise Harvesting Chemical and Gas Sensing Industrial Tomography Silicon Piezoresistive Stress Sensors Miniaturised Space Payloads Integrated Gas Sensors Sensors as Communication Channels Nanophotonic Sensors Biopolymer Detection Integrated Radar Sensors Ultrasonics |
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We present a new approach to the powering of small autonomous sensors based on vibration energy harvesting by the exploitation of nonlinear stochastic dynamics. Such a method is shown to outperform standard linear approaches based on the use of resonant oscillators and to overcome some of the most severe limitations of present strategies, like narrow bandwidth, need for continuous frequency tuning and low power efficiency. We demonstrate the superior performances of this method by applying it to piezoelectric energy harvesting from ambient vibration. Ambient energy harvesting has been in recent years the recurring object of a number of research efforts aimed at providing an autonomous solution to the powering of wireless sensor devices. Among the different solutions, vibration energy harvesting has played a major role due to the almost universal presence of mechanical vibrations: from ground shaking to human movements, from ambient sound to thermal noise. Standard approaches are mainly based on resonant linear oscillators that are acted on by ambient vibrations. Here we propose a new method based on the exploitation of the dynamical features of stochastic nonlinear oscillators. We demonstrate the superior performances of this method by applying it to piezoelectric energy harvesting from ambient vibration. There are also potentials for realizing micro/nano-scale power generators. Biography Luca Gammaitoni, is Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Perugia, in Italy and the director of the Noise in Physical Systems (NiPS) Laboratory. He is also the founder and CEO of Wisepower srl a spin-off of the University of Perugia. He obtained the PhD in Physics from the University of Pisa in 1990. Since then he has developed a wide international experience with collaborations both in Europe, Japan and the USA. He has authored more than 120 papers on top-level scientific journals and few books. His papers have been cited more than 4300 times. The Noise in Physical Systems (NiPS) Laboratory is a research facility within the Physics Department of the University of Perugia. The laboratory (www.nipslab.org) has a long-standing tradition in studying physical systems in the presence of noise. Scientific interest ranges from stochastic nonlinear dynamics modelling to thermal noise measurements. Wisepower srl (www.wisepower.it) is a university spin-off company focussed on the design and prototypation of micro-energy generator. The company holds patents on vibration-to-electricity nonlinear conversion technology. |
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