Abstract
In this work, we study an electrostatic vibrational energy harvester e-VEH based on the charge doubler principle introduced by Bennet two centuries ago. We proof the advantages of using self-synchronized mechanical switches instead didoes, to avoid the problems of leakage current and threshold voltage. We made a new device as a proof of concept, which can work with mechanical switches or with diodes. To harvest the kinetic energy, an electrode moves between two fixed ones thanks to external vibration and creates an asymmetric variation of two variable capacitors. Due to his motion, this electrode also drives a sequence of contacts in the mechanical switch's configuration. A comparison between this design and the one using diodes in the same conditions shows that the output voltage increase with an exponentially form for both design. However, the one using mechanical switches is faster by a factor of 80%. This induce a time reduction of 99% of harvested power at 40nW.