MICRO POWER ELECTRO STATIC GENERATORS

ABSTRACT
This paper presents an overview of the electromagnetic and the electrostatic micro-power
generators (MPG's). Applications and motivations behind micro-power generation are discussed.
The dynamic model and the estimated power calculations are presented. The state of the art of
the work done in both electromagnetic and electrostatic micro-power generation was discussed
with the advantages and drawbacks of each type.
An electrostatic generator, or electrostatic machine, is an electrical generator that produces static
electricity, or electricity at high voltage and low continuous current. The knowledge of static electricity
dates back to the earliest civilizations, but for millennia it remained merely an interesting and
mystifying phenomenon, without a theory to explain its behavior and often confused with magnetism. By
the end of the 17th century, researchers had developed practical means of generating electricity by
friction, but the development of electrostatic machines did not begin in earnest until the 18th century,
when they became fundamental instruments in the studies about the new science of electricity.

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INTRODUCTION
It is a micro machined, vibration-driven generators employing electrostatic phenomena to convert the
kinetic energy of a mass into electrical energy at microwatt level. They have required mechanical
vibrations to excite a resonant structure. Micro power electrostatic generators are capable of powering
electronic circuits.
Electrostatic generators operate by using manual (or other) power to transform mechanical
work into electric energy, or using electric currents. Manual electrostatic generators
develop electrostatic charges of opposite signs rendered to two conductors, using only electric
forces, and work by using moving plates, drums, or belts to carry electric charge to a
high potential electrode.
Electrostatic machines are typically used in science classrooms to safely demonstrate electrical
forces and high voltage phenomena. The elevated potential differences achieved have been also
used for a variety of practical applications, such as operating X-ray tubes, particle
accelerators, spectroscopy, medical applications, sterilization of food, and nuclear physics
experiments. Electrostatic generators such as the Van de Graaff generator, and variations as
the Pelletron, also find use in physics research.

The first electrostatic generators are called friction machines because of the friction in the

generation process. A primitive form of frictional machine was invented around 1663 by Otto
von Guericke, using a sulphur globe that could be rotated and rubbed by hand. It may not
actually have been rotated during use and was not intended to produce electricity (rather cosmic
virtues),[1] but inspired many later machines that used rotating globes. Isaac Newton suggested
the use of a glass globe instead of a sulphur one.[2] About 1706 Francis Hauksbee improved the
basic design,[3] with his frictional electrical machine that enabled a glass sphere to be rotated
rapidly against a woollen cloth

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BASIC PRINCIPLE
The generator considered here is of a capacitive type. The capacitor is formed by one electrode
which is weighted and free to move Second electrode which is stationary relative to the chip
The presence of surface charge imbalance means that the objects will exhibit attractive or
repulsive forces. This surface charge imbalance, which leads to static electricity, can be
generated by touching two differing surfaces together and then separating them due to the
phenomenon of the triboelectric effect. Rubbing two non-conductive objects generates a great
amount of static electricity. This is not the result of friction; two non-conductive surfaces can
become charged by just being placed one on top of the other. Since most surfaces have a rough
texture, it takes longer to achieve charging through contact than through rubbing. Rubbing
objects together increases amount of adhesive contact between the two surfaces.
Usually insulators, e.g., substances that do not conduct electricity, are good at both generating,
and holding, a surface charge. Some examples of these substances are rubber, plastic, glass,
and pith. Conductive objects in contact generate charge imbalance too, but retain the charges
only if insulated. The charge that is transferred during contact electrification is stored on the
surface of each object. Note that the presence of electric current does not detract from the
electrostatic forces nor from the sparking, from the corona discharge, or other phenomena. Both
phenomena can exist simultaneously in the same system.

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 The basis of electrostatic energy conversion isthe variable capacitor. The variable
capacitancestructure, is driven by mechanical vibrationsand oscillates between a
maximum capacitance(Cmax) and a minimum capacitance (Cmin).
 If the charge on the capacitors constrained, thevoltage will increase as the
capacitancedecreases.
 If the voltage across the capacitor isconstrained, charge will move from thecapacitor to a
storage device or to the load asthe capacitance decreas
VAN DE GRAAFF
The Van de Graaff generator was invented by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff in
1929 at MIT as a particle accelerator.[12] The first model was demonstrated in October 1929. In
the Van de Graaff machine, an insulating belt transports electric charge to the interior of an
insulated hollow metal high voltage terminal, where it is transferred to the terminal by a "comb"
of metal points. The advantage of the design was that since there was no electric field in the
interior of the terminal, the charge on the belt could continue to be discharged onto the terminal
regardless of how high the voltage on the terminal was. Thus the only limit to the voltage on the
machine is ionization of the air next to the terminal. This occurs when the electric field at the
terminal exceeds the dielectric strength of air, about 30 kV per centimeter. Since the highest
electric field is produced at sharp points and edges, the terminal is made in the form of a smooth

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hollow sphere; the larger the diameter the higher the voltage attained. The first machine used a
silk ribbon bought at a five and dime store as the charge transport belt. In 1931 a version able to
produce 1,000,000 volts was described in a patent disclosure.
The Van de Graaff generator was a successful particle accelerator, producing the highest
energies until the late 1930s when the cyclotron superseded it. The voltage on open air Van de
Graaff machines is limited to a few million volts by air breakdown. Higher voltages, up to about
25 megavolts, were achieved by enclosing the generator inside a tank of pressurized insulating
gas. This type of Van de Graaff particle accelerator is still used in medicine and research. Other
variations were also invented for physics research, such as the Pelletron, that uses a chain with
alternating insulating and conducting links for charge transport.
Small Van de Graaff generators are commonly used in science museums and science education
to demonstrate the principles of static electricity. A popular demonstration is to have a person
touch the high voltage terminal while standing on an insulated support; the high voltage charges
the person's hair, causing the strands to stand out from the head.

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WIMSHURST MACHINE
In 1878, the British inventor James Wimshurst started his studies about electrostatic
generators, improving the Holtz machine, in a powerful version with multiple disks. The
classical Wimshurst machine, that became the most popular form of influence machine, was
reported to the scientific community by 1883, although previous machines with very similar
structures were previously described by Holtz and Musaeus. In 1885, one of the largest-ever
Wimshurst machines was built in England (it is now at the Chicago Museum of Science and
Industry). The Wimshurst machine is a considerably simple machine; it works, as all influence
machines, with electrostatic induction of charges, which means that it uses even the slightest
existing charge to create and accumulate more charges, and repeats this process for as long as the
machine is in action. Wimshurst machines are composed of: two insulated disks attached to
pulleys of opposite rotation, the disks have small conductive (usually metal) plates on their
outward-facing sides; two double-ended brushes that serve as charge stabilizers and are also the
place where induction happens, creating the new charges to be collected; two pairs of collecting
combs, which are, as the name implies, the collectors of electrical charge produced by the
machine; two Leyden Jars, the capacitors of the machine; a pair of electrodes, for the transfer of
charges once they have been sufficiently accumulated. The simple structure and components of
the Wimshurst Machine make it a common choice for a homemade electrostatic experiment or
demonstration, these characteristics were factors that contributed to its popularity, as previously
mentioned.

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In 1887, Weinhold modified the Leyser machine with a system of vertical metal bar inductors
with wooden cylinders close to the disk for avoiding polarity reversals. M. L. Lebiez described
the Lebiez machine, that was essentially a simplified Voss machine (L'Électricien, April 1895,
pp. 225–227). In 1893, Bonetti patented a machine with the structure of the Wimshurst machine,
but without metal sectors in the disks. This machine is significantly more powerful than the
sectored version, but it must usually be started with an externally applied charge.
WORKING
The basis of electrostatic energy conversion is the variable capacitor. The variable
capacitance structure, is driven by mechanical vibrations and oscillates between a maximum
capacitance (Cmax) and a minimum capacitance (Cmin). If the charge on the capacitors
constrained, the voltage will increase as the capacitance decreases.If the voltage across the
capacitor isconstrained, charge will move from thecapacitor to a storage device or to the load
asthe capacitance decreases.In either case, mechanical kinetic energy isconverted to electrical
energy. When Cv is atCmax, switch 1 (SW1) closes, and charge istransferred from the input to
the variablecapacitor.
ELECTROSTATIC POWER GENERATORS
Basic principle of operation
An alternative transducer to the electromagnetic one is the variable capacitor. Simply, if a
precharged capacitor plates are separated apart by an external mechanical work, the total
electrical energy stored in the variable capacitor will increase.Through the utilization of power
electronic circuitry, sensing and control systems, this additional electrical energy may be
returned to the reservoir. There are two possible energy conversion cycles shown in Fig. 5
according to [2], [12]. These cycles are voltageconstrained and charge-constrained cycles.
Voltage-constrained cycle is represented in Fig. 5 by the closed path ACDA while the closed
path ABDA represents Charge-constrained cycle. From Figure 5, the increase in the stored
energy in the variable capacitor can be expressed as follows

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It is clear from equations 11 and 12 that the energy converted form the voltage-constrained cycle
is much larger than that converted of the charge-constrained cycle. However, voltage-constrained
cycles required two reservoirs with different voltage levels and it requires power electronics
much complicated than that required by the charge-constrained cycle. Also, voltage-constrained
conversion cycle requires a large current conduction period, i.e. path CD in Fig. 5, which
will be associated with large power losses. It was concluded that charge-constrained cycle is
more feasible than the voltage-constrained cycle [2]. A power electronic circuit that manages the
operation of the switches was proposed in [2] and shown in Fig 6. When the capacitor is at its
maximum capacitance position, switch B is turned ON to transfer some amount of energy from
the reservoir CR to the coil L. When the current reaches to the desired value, switch B is turned
OFF and switch A is turned ON charging the variable capacitor, CM, to the desired charge
Qo as shown in Fig. 5. After that both switches are turned OFF to isolate the capacitor while
moving from maximum capacitance position to minimum capacitance position in order
to keep its charge constant. At the minimum capacitance position, the process is reversed in
order to return the gain in the energy, area ABDA, to the reservoir. The main advantage of
electrostatic energy converters is that they have a well-known micromachined technology that is
compatible with the CMOS technology. On the other hand, the main disadvantages are: they
required sophisticated control system in order to manage the switches operation, sensing
electronics to inform the control system when the minimum and maximum capacitances are
achieved, and finally, high voltages may be achieved when the variable MEMS capacitor
moves from its minimum to maximum capacitance values, that may harm the power switches or
the associated microelectronics.
B. State of the art in the literature
An electrostatic micro-generator based on a comb finger structure to generate 8 μW from 2.5
KHz and 0.5 μm input displacement amplitude has been constructed in [12]. The operational
limit was the voltage, and it was limited to 8 volt. In order to charge and discharge the variable
capacitor in specific points in the cycle, a very sophisticated energy feedback technique was
used. Both the control core and the power switches were designed and fabricated but the MEMS
converter itself was not fabricated.

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DYNAMIC MODEL
A. Micro generator system overview
A system of vibration to electric energy converter/transducer is shown in Fig. (2) [2]. Ambient
vibration energy existed in the microsystem’s environment is coupled onto a spring-mass-
damper resonator. Some of this energy is lost as air damping losses (friction losses) and the rest
of this energy is transferred to electric energy by the electromechanical transducer. The output
power is then conditioned using power electronics before supplying the electric load or being
stored in energy reservoir.

B. Electromechanical dynamic model

Figure 3 shows a simple representation of the inertial microgenerator (independent on the
transducer type). It consists of a seismic mass m attached to a spring k. When the housing is
vibrated, the mass moves out of phase with the generator’s housing; i.e. a relative displacement
between the mass and the housing will be produced. As the conversion from mechanical to
electrical energy damps the motion of the mass, the electromechanical transducer can be depicted
as a dashpot, be. Finally, bm is the mechanical damping dashpot which represents pure losses.
The inertial generator is anchored at one end and free to vibrate at the other end.

Figure 2. Oerview of vibration to electric energy converter.

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Figure 3. General schematic of the inertial micro generator

APPLICATIONS
 As small source of voltage
 • Low power VLSI design
 • CMOS fabrication
 • In pacemakers in medical field
 • In power electronics
The advantages of the generator are:
 • Very high voltages can be easily generated
 • Ripple free output
Precision and flexibility of control The disadvantages are:
 • Low current output
 • Limitations on belt velocity due to its tendency for vibration. The vibrations may make
it difficult to have an accurate grading of electric fields.
 These generators are used in nuclear physics laboratories for particle acceleration and
other processes in research work.

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CONCLUSION

This paper summaries the most important work done in the area of mechanically driven
lectromagnetic and electrostatic micro-power generators. A general mathematical model has
been investigated. It can be concluded that rotational micro-generators can generate more power
than that of linear ones, however, the rotational speeds are very high (tens of thousands of rpm)
which leads to a quick wear of the rotational parts and limits the lifetime of the generator. Also,
electrostatic micro-generators are very well known technology which is compatible with the
CMOS technology, but on the other hand, those generators require power electronics, control
electronics and sensing electronics as well which may put a great limits on the useful output
power. Finally, the linear (inertial) electromagnetic micro-generators driven by mechanical
vibrations seem to be a very promising solution. However, there are some crucial issues that
must be addressed in order to facilitate their implementation such as, strong magnetic fields and
large number of coil turns. If theses issues were solved, they would be the most effective
solution.

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REFERENCES
[1] Shad Roundy, Paul Kenneth Wright and Jan M. Rabaey “Energy scavenging for wireless
sensor networks with special focus on vibrations”, Kluwer Academic publishers, 2004.
[2] Mur Miranda J. O., 2004, “Electrostatic Vibration-to-Electric Energy Conversion”, Ph.D
Thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Feburary 2004.
[3] Williams C. B., Woods R. C., and Yates R. B., “Analysis of a microelectric generator for
microsystems”, Sensors and Actuators, A 52, 1996, pp. 8-11.
[4] Williams C. B., Shearwood C. B. Harradine M. A., Mellor P. H., Brich T. S. and Yates R. B.,
“Development of an electromagnetic microgenerator”, IEE Proceeding, Circuits Devices
Systems, Vol. 148, No. 6, December 2001.
[5] Neil N. H., Wong H. Y., Wen J. Li, Philip H. W. and Zhiyu Wen, “A laser-micromachined
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[6] Wen J. Li, Wen Z. Y., Wong P. K., Chan G. M. H. and Leong P. H. W., “A micromachined
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[7] Ching N. N. H., Wong H. Y., Wen J. Li and Philip H. W. Leong, “A laser-micromachined
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[8] Johnny M. H. Lee, Steve C. L. Yung, Wen J. li, and Philip H. W.Leong, “Development of an
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