PSG COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICALS AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING COIMBATORE-641004

NANOGENERATORS
PROJECT MEMBERS: 1. N.PADMA 2. V.T.SARANYA 06E130 07E408 (nspadhu@gmail.com) (v.t.saranya@yahoo.com)

ABSTRACT:
In this article, an introduction is presented about an energy harvesting technology that has potential for powering nanosystems. Our discussion mainly focuses on the approaches other than the well-known solar cell and thermoelectrics. We mainly discuss the piezoelectric nanogenerators developed using aligned ZnO nanowire arrays. This is a potential technology for converting mechanical movement energy (such as body movement, muscle stretching, blood pressure), vibration energy (such as acoustic/ultrasonic wave), and hydraulic energy (such as fl ow of body fluid, blood flow, contraction of blood vessel, dynamic fluid in nature)into electric energy for selfpowered nanosystem and its applications.

INTRODUCTION:

Today's portable electronics depend on batteries for power. .There has been a lot of interest in making nanodevices, but providing power for nanometer-scale devices has long been a challenge. Batteries and other traditional sources are too large, and tend to negate the size advantages of nanodevices . Nanotechnology researchers are developing the perfect complement to the power tie .The diminutive prototype generator could be used to power other nanodevices in the future, all without the need for batteries or other impractical or toxic external power sources. Nanogenerator allows us to harvest or recycle energy from many sources to power these devices. Driven by ultrasonic waves or vibration, nanogenerators have the potential for self-sustaining power by harvesting energy from the environment.

ZINC OXIDE- THE BUILDING MATERIAL:

Zinc oxide is best suited for making nano wires because of its four key advantages.
First, it exhibits both semiconducting and piezoelectric (PZ) properties that can form the

basis for electromechanically coupled sensors and transducers. Zinc oxide is an optical material with potential applications in sensors, resonators and other nanoelectronic structures.
Second, ZnO is relatively biosafe and biocompatible , and it can be used for biomedical

applications with little toxicity.

Figure 1.Zno nanowires

 Third, ZnO exhibits the most diverse and abundant configurations of nanostructures known

so far, such as NWs , nanobelts (NBs), nanosprings , nanorings , nanobows , and nanohelices .
Finally, Zinc oxide nanowires-tiny wires 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human

hair-can be chemically grown on virtually any substrate, including metals, polymers, and anything else that could double as an electrode. The wires are both durable and flexible .The wires also precipitate from solution at 70C, making them easy to grow under normal laboratory conditions .

FABRICATION:
Fabrication begins with growing an array of vertically-aligned nanowires approximately a half-micron apart on gallium arsenide, sapphire or a flexible polymer substrate. A layer of zinc oxide is grown on top of substrate to collect the current. Silicon zig-zag electrodes, which contain thousands of nanometer-scale tips made conductive by a platinum coating,can also be fabricated. The Pt coating is for enhancing the conductivity of the electrode .

Figure 2.A photo of the electrode during fabrication after being coated with platinum.

The zigzag electrode also serves as a Schottky barrier (a metal semiconductor junction) to the hundreds or thousands of nanowires and is able to harvest the energy they produce. The electrode is then lowered on top of the nanowire array, leaving just enough space so that a significant number of the nanowires are free to flex within the gaps created by the tips.

POWER GENERATION:

Figure 3.Prototype nanogenerator

In the past, the nanogenerator could harvest power from just one nanowire at a time when flexed by dragging the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) using a Si tip coated with Pt film. In the AFM contact mode, a constant normal force of 5 nN was maintained between the tip and sample surface over it . The coupling of piezoelectric and semiconducting properties in zinc oxide creates a strain field (with the outer surface being tensile-positive strain and inner surface compressive -negative strain )and charge separation across the NW as a result of its bending. Ordinarily the positive and negative charges of zinc and oxygen ions in these crystalline nanowires cancel each other out. But when the wires, which are chemically grown,bend in response to, say, a vibration, the ions are displaced. This unbalances the charges and creates an electric field that produces a current when the nanowire is connected to a circuit. Made of platinum-coated silicon, the tip served as a Schottky barrier. Schottky contact is a metal-semiconductor contact at which a potential barrier is formed, so that it behaves like a diode that only allows the current to flow from metal to semiconductor, and little current flows across the interface .The rectifying characteristic of the Schottky barrier formed between the metal tip and the NW leads to electrical current generation in one direction. Figure 4.ZnO nanowires being flexed

Figure 5.Close up view of nanogenerator showing nanowires and zigzag electrodes

Now Si zig zag electrodes are introduced in the device. When hit by ultrasonic waves or vibrations, the electrode rapidly moves up and down, causing the nanowires to repeatedly compress and flex, producing power. Thus mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy by means of piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowire (NW) arrays . With its multiple conducting tips similar to those of an AFM ,the zig-zag electrode serves as a Schottky barrier to hundreds or thousands of wires simultaneously, harvesting energy from the nanowire arrays. Because different wires are bent at different times, the movement generates a steady direct current (DC) output in the nano-Ampere range. Although each nanowire alone produces very little power, with simultaneous output from many nanowires, we can generate high power. Such thin wires can be bent more than bulk zinc oxide without breaking making it possible to apply more strain and so generate more electricity. Producing the top electrode as a single assembly sets the stage for scaling up this technology. Figure 6.The plot shows the output from a nanogenerator when the ultrasonic wave was on and off.

POWER PRODUCED:

Nanogenerators could produce as much as four watts per cubic centimeter, more than enough to power a variety of environmental, biomedical, and defense-based nano-scale devices.The original nanogenerators of size two by three millimeters square can produce up to 800 nanoamperes and 20 millivolts. The efficiency of the NW-based piezoelectric power generator is estimated to be 17 to 30%. So far, the nanogenerator has run continuously for more than an hour.

Figure 7.A graph showing spikes of electrical discharge as the nanowires are scanned

APPLICATIONS:
Since batteries contain toxic materials such as lithium and cadmium, they cannot be

implanted into the body as part of biomedical applications. Because zinc oxide is non-toxic and compatible with the body, the new nanogenerators could be integrated into implantable biomedical devices to wirelessly measure blood flow and blood pressure within the body. One early application of the "nanogenerators" is providing power for a glucose sensor implanted under the skin of the arm. Such a sensor would transmit blood sugar readings to a wrist watch and one day the sensor implant could automatically releases insulin when needed. The flexibility of the polymer substrate used for growing ZnO NWs makes it feasible to accommodate the flexibility of human muscles. The nano-generator is used for powering human implants inside the body. The body provides numerous potential power sources: mechanical energy (such as body movement, muscle stretching, blood vessel contraction)vibrational energy (acoustic waves), chemical energy (glucose), and hydraulic energy (body fluid and blood flow), and these energies can be converted into electrical energy . Almost any device that could use a wireless, mobile power source could potentially use the nanogenerator,

 They can power a broad range of nanometer-scale defense, environmental and

biomedical applications, environmental monitors and even nanoscale robots.

The technical applications include wireless and remote sensing of gases or

chemicals,

microelectromechanical

systems

and

sonic

wave

detection.

ADVANTAGES:
ZnO Nanowires are easy to make and inexpensive.
Because the chemical process by which the wires can be grown is inexpensive, at

some point it may be practical to produce large arrays that are capable of providing enough power for consumer electronics. We can grow these on polymer substrates at very low cost. Piezoelectric materials are frequently used in microscale devices. What's new about this application is the ease with which nanogenerators can be made at the nanoscale. Anything that makes the nanowires move within the generator can be used for generating power. Very little force is required to move them. The nanogenerator can operate independently and wirelessly.

DISADVANTAGES:
The generator suffers from a few key limitations, however.
First, growing uniform nanowires is difficult they are usually of slightly different

height or diameter. As a result, in a generator containing many thousands of nanowires, only a few hundred or so successfully generate electricity when shaken, as they do not all make contact with the electrode. That hurdle must be overcome in order to charge large, power-hungry devices.
We still need to figure out ways to better control the density, growth, and

uniformity of the zinc oxide wires to make as many as millions or even billions of nanowires to produce current simultaneously. This will allow optimised operation of the nanogenerator. Wires that are too short cannot touch the electrode to produce current, while wires that are too long cannot flex to produce electrical charge.

PROPOSED IDEAS: The use of nanogenerators in NOKIA MORPH

The nanogenerator could power the next generation of nanomachines - opening up

hundreds of applications in the medical and technology industries.

The ceramic or semiconductor substrates used for growing ZnO NWs are hard,

brittle and cannot be used in the areas that require a foldable or flexible power source .It is necessary to use conductive polymer/plastics as substrate that is likely to be biocompatible and biosafe. If you had a device like this in your shoes when you walked, you would be able to generate your own small current to power small electronics. The day when you can charge your cell phone or iPod just by going for a stroll around the block could be a step closer. The nanogenerators in the form of fibres can be used in POWER SHIRT.