Self-adaptive memory foam switches for piezoelectric synchronous harvesting circuits

Synchronous extraction circuits are effective in improving the performance of piezoelectric generators. In comparison with dedicated electronic circuits to correctly operate the switches of these circuits, synchronous mechanical switches provide an alternative solution with less electronic components and lower voltage threshold. In this technique note, a self-adaptive mechanical switch design by utilization of the viscoelastic memory foam is proposed. It possesses favorable self-adaptive peak-detection ability in different amplitude or frequencies, which is believed to be a significant improvement to the previous researches. A synchronized switch harvesting on the inductor circuit using the proposed self-adaptive mechanical switches demonstrated a maximum power ratio of 292.3% in comparison with the standard circuit.