The significance of temperature dependence on the piezoelectric energy harvesting by using a phononic crystal

In this study, an acoustic energy harvester based on a two-dimensional phononic crystal has been constructed. The present structure consists of silicon cylinders in the air background with a polyvinylidene fluoride cylinder as a defect to confine the acoustic energy. The presented energy harvester depends on the piezoelectric effect (using the piezoelectric material polyvinylidene fluoride) that converts the confined acoustic energy to electric energy. The maximum output voltage obtained equals 170 mV. Moreover, the results revealed that the output voltage can be increased with increasing temperature. In addition, the effects of the load resistance and the geometry of the piezoelectric material on the output voltage have been studied theoretically. Based on these results, all previous studies about energy harvesting in phononic structures must take temperature effects into account.