A novel ZnO piezoelectric microcantilever energy scavenger: Fabrication and characterization

• ZnO thin film microcantilever energy scavenger by simple and inexpensive wet etching and lift off method.
• The voltage induced due to deformation of ZnO cantilever were measured ~ 230 mV.
• Obtained values of Young's modulus and hardness are nearly constant for indentation depth.
• The transverse piezoelectric coefficients d31 is much higher compared and nearly closed to the ZnO bulk material.
• Integration with multifunctional multiferroic film enhances the piezoelectric properties and output voltage.

This novel piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film microcantilever was fabricated by micromachining technique. To release the cantilever, wet anisotropic etching of Silicon (Si) was performed by tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH). The transverse piezoelectric coefficient d31 of the ZnO film, obtained from the deflection of the cantilever with influence of applied voltage, was calculated as 3.32 pC/N. The observed dynamic characterization of the novel piezoelectric microcantilever had linear response with the applied driving voltage. The obtained values of Young Modulus and Hardness were 208 ± 4 GPa and 4.84 ± 0.1 GPa respectively. This inexpensive novel method provides additional design flexibility to fabricate vibrational energy harvesters. The easy steps of fabrication and cost effectiveness of this method may be preferred it over DRIE. The voltage induced due to deformation of ZnO cantilever were measured ~ 230 mV. This microcantilever energy scavenger may be used to power the nano devices and sensors for medical and agricultural applications as a replacement of traditional bulky batteries.