Electrostatic energy harvester based on charge-trapping nonvolatile memory structure

A novel non-resonant electrostatic energy harvester is presented, which utilizes charges stored in the charge-trapping nonvolatile memory to replace external voltage source or electret for biasing the variable capacitor. The proposed harvester is fully compatible with the IC process and easy to be integrated with other electronic devices. Moreover, based on the modeling and simulation results, the harvester can achieve ultra-high output power (~1.87 mW) mainly because of high charge-storage capacity and high capacitive-coupling ability of the nonvolatile memory structure as well as high energy-harvesting efficiency of the harvester by using free-sliding slider as proof mass. This harvester is suitable for miniaturized and self-powered microsystems.