Analysis of the operation of a regenerative electrostatic energy harvester

Abstract

The operation of an electrostatic energy harvester based on the electrostatic generator known as “Bennet's doubler,” is analyzed in detail, with the objective of finding the relations of the capacitance values, frequency of operation, and other parameters, with the resulting waveforms and the harvested power when the device is used in conjunction with a DC/DC converter. The results are compared with simulations, and are verified with a macroscopic physical prototype with parameters similar to a microelectromechanical version.