Volume 6, Issue 5 pp. 791-812
Review

Harvesting Energy from Human Activity: Ferroelectric Energy Harvesters for Portable, Implantable, and Biomedical Electronics

Prof. Guangzu Zhang

Corresponding Author

Prof. Guangzu Zhang

School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074 Wuhan, PR China

Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research Institute, 518057 Shenzhen, PR China

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Dr. Mingyu Li

Dr. Mingyu Li

School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074 Wuhan, PR China

Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research Institute, 518057 Shenzhen, PR China

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Prof. Honglang Li

Corresponding Author

Prof. Honglang Li

Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, PR China

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Prof. Qing Wang

Prof. Qing Wang

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802 USA

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Prof. Shenglin Jiang

Prof. Shenglin Jiang

School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074 Wuhan, PR China

Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research Institute, 518057 Shenzhen, PR China

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First published: 25 September 2017
Citations: 58

Abstract

Energy harvesters based on ferroelectric materials, which are capable of converting mechanical and thermal energies into electric power, have drawn unprecedented attention in both academic and industrial fields because of their great potential in harvesting human-activity-induced and other energies of the human body to drive low-power, personal, portable, and implantable electronics. Based on previous works that uncovered the features of advanced materials and the nanotechnologies for the fabrication of ferroelectric generators, we emphasize the potential of ferroelectric energy harvesters in biomedical applications, with not only traditional ferroelectrics but also newly developed ferroelectric biomaterials. In addition, the latest representative integration schemes of hybrid generators with ferroelectric materials are outlined, which could markedly extend the functions of energy harvesters, especially for implantable and biomedical applications.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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