Journal of Clean Energy Technologies, Vol. 5, No.

5, September 2017

Electrostatic Energy Harvesting Systems: A Better

Understanding of Their Sustainability
Rita T. Aljadiri, Luay Y. Taha, and Paul Ivey


Abstract—This paper presents a review of electrostatic
energy harvesting systems. It includes several types of
electrostatic harvesters. The review is done based on two main
categories, capacitor structure and conversion mechanism. Fig. 1. Block diagram of electrostatic harvester.
Since electrostatic harvesters are important devices when
sustainability is considered, this review gives an in depth
evaluation and comparison of all possible configurations. It III. VARIABLE CAPACITORS FOR ENERGY HARVESTING
should be noted that this review is based on recent published
literature. The first variable capacitor for electrostatic power
conversion was proposed in 1998 by Meninger and
Index Terms—Conversion mechanism, electrostatic, energy co-workers [4]. The concept was later demonstrated by
harvester, variable capacitor. Roundy and co-workers utilising large machined variable
capacitors [5]. Since then, several variable capacitor
structures for electrostatic harvesting have been reported in
I. INTRODUCTION the literature. The structures of these capacitors depend
Electrostatic converters are capacitive devices in which mainly on changing capacitance parameters. There are three
energy conversion takes place as the plates of a variable types of variable capacitor: variable area, variable gap and
capacitor separate or the area of the plates is modified in variable dielectric constant. These three types are considered
response to externally applied mechanical energy [1]. The next.
main unit of an electrostatic energy harvester is its variable
A. Variable Area Capacitors
capacitor, which makes use of a change in capacitance to
either cause a voltage increase or a charge increase in the In 1977 Sanborn F. Philp [6] reported a variable area
harvesting system. Many types of harvester have been vacuum-insulated varying-capacitance machine. This
reported in previous studies based on various capacitor capacitor operated by rotational motion. Having evaluated its
structures and energy transfer strategies. A literature review generation of high voltage direct current power, the author
of those types is presented in this paper divided into four suggested that his capacitor machine offers two potential
sections: work concentrating on variable capacitor structures; advantages over conventional rotating machines: first, it is
previous work on conversion mechanisms; a comparison of capable of very high efficiency power generation; second, it is
conversion mechanisms; and a comparison of various suitable for high voltage operation.
electrostatic devices. Sterken et al. [7] proposed a variable area capacitor in
which the vibrations cause the capacitor plates to move in
opposite directions, changing the capacitance and hence
II. ELECTROSTATIC ENERGY HARVESTERS producing electricity. The author reported that experimentally
1 W could be harvested from a 5 m vibration at resonance
An electrostatic energy harvester consists of a variable
frequency of 980 Hz.
capacitor and an energy transfer circuit as shown in Fig. 1 [1].
Tsutsumino et al. [8] developed an in-plane overlap
The electrostatic effect takes place between the parallel
variable area power generator. They proposed an electrode
plates of the capacitor on which electrical charge is stored.
arrangement for reducing the in-plane unidirectional damping
The harvesting of electrical energy is achieved by fixing one
force. They confirmed that this generator model can imitate
of the plates and moving the other by an external mechanical
the response of the in-plane electret generator with sufficient
motion to change one of the variable capacitor parameters:
accuracy.
either plate area or plate separation [2]. This allows
Tvedt et al. [9] modelled and simulated an electrostatic
mechanical movement to be converted into electrical energy
in-plane overlap varying energy harvester using a circuit
according to the principle of electrostatics. The details of
simulator. They investigated both linear and nonlinear models.
electrostatic energy conversion principle are addressed [3].
The nonlinear model included mechanical stoppers at the
displacement extremes. They used both narrow- and
Manuscript received January 30, 2016; revised November 16, 2016.
wide-band large amplitude excitation signals to simulate
Rita T. Aljadiri is with Emirates Aviation University, Dubai, United Arab
Emirates (Tel.: 00971508079636; e-mail: [email protected]). environmental vibrations. The authors found that nonlinear
Luay Y. Taha is with Windsor University, Ontario, Canada (e-mail: behaviour is significant at large displacements due to the
[email protected]). impact on mechanical stoppers. They also suggested that for
Paul Ivey is with Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United
Kingdom (e-mail: [email protected]). sinusoidal excitation the mechanical stoppers could cause

doi: 10.18178/jocet.2017.5.5.407 409

 Journal of Clean Energy Technologies, Vol. 5, No. 5, September 2017

output power to decrease. Pasquale et al. [17] investigated the performance of micro
Kiziroglou et al. [10] presented a novel electrostatic systems based on electrostatic coupling, and tested the power
harvester design employing an external free-rolling proof scavenged by a capacitive micro-scavenger with an
mass. The vibration energy causes a change to the capacitor out-of-plane gap-closing layout. The authors investigated the
area. The authors described the fabrication process for a performance of this energy harvesting strategy by comparing
prototype device and the physical characterisations for it both to a configuration with an in-plane motion of
dielectric sizes down to 100 nm. They demonstrated a voltage electrostatic benders and to the performance of bimorph
gain of 2.4, and suggested that the device is suitable for piezoelectric transducers.
energy harvesting from low frequency motion sources, such Guillemet et al. [18] studied the vibration energy
as the human body. harvesting capabilities of an out-of-plane gap-closing
Halvorsen et al. [11] designed, fabricated and converter. Their goal was to maximize the output energy
characterized a MEMS electrostatic energy harvester using a harvested from a MEMS device while preventing the integrity
variable area capacitor. The device operates in continuous of the conditioning circuit. The originality of their work lies in
mode and features high voltage output and large travelling the optimisation, taking into accounts both electrical and
distance of a big mass within a compact design using full bulk mechanical aspects and studying at the same time the
silicon thickness. The output power is about 1μW at an consequence of the voltage limitations on the transducer.
acceleration power spectral density of 0.03 g2/Hz. Guillemet et al. [19] presented the design and testing of an
O’Donnell et al. [12] investigated the feasibility for electrostatic energy harvester based on a gap-closing comb
directly generating HVDC power using a novel generator drive structure. The capacitor is made from a thick silicon
topology as an alternative solution to large offshore wind wafer, whose total capacitance varies from 40 to 290 pF. The
farms. They used variable-capacitance based on the work of authors’ results show a parasitic capacitance of 30 pF. The
Sanborn F. Philip (1977). The authors presented a generator device was tested with a charge pump circuit for 500 sec. The
that uses electrostatic fields to generate HVDC output with a harvested power was 938 nW.
minimum of power conditioning, and reported that its system Janicek et al. [20] reported a generator design based on an
power density is comparable to conventional electrostatic converter that uses the principle of periodical
generator–transformer–rectifier systems. modification of the gap between the electrodes of a capacitor.
Reznikov et al. [13] (2010) reported the generation of the They designed and modelled the structure as a 3D
electric power by a variable area permanently polarized silicon-based MEMS. The authors took an innovative
capacitor used for energy harvesting from oscillations and approach to testing the structure under a very low resonant
rotation. Their experimental results demonstrated the frequency of around 100 Hz. They also presented the design
generation of either high voltage pulses, or low voltage of a long cantilever spring with a minimum area of the chip,
alternating current that need to rectified, regulated and stored. its ability to work in 3D mode, and the capacity to be tuned to
They based their design for an electrostatic swing energy reach the desired parameters.
harvester on the linear displacement of a conductive shield
C. Variable Dielectric Constant Capacitors
between the electrets and passive electrode. The authors
provided experimental data showing the harvester could The methodology of producing electricity by changing the
provide a DC voltage greater than 3 V. dielectric materials of a capacitor using mechanical energy
topology was not previously common. However, it was
B. Variable Gap Capacitors adopted using flow energy topology by Boland et al. in 2005
Mizuno et al. [14] was the first team to propose a variable [21], who described a device that is a fixed-charged, capacitor
gap method in which mechanical vibration is used to vary the with air-filled gaps and liquid droplets that travel by vibration.
gap and hence the resonating capacitance, which can then be As the liquid moves in and out of the gaps, a voltage is
tuned to obtain optimum output power. generated across the capacitor according to the position of the
Maio et al. [15] described the fabrication and initial testing droplets. The authors also studied the possibility of using
of a micro-machined variable capacitor for power generation. serial and parallel arrays of the device to increase power
The measured capacitance of the device varies from 100 pF to output. The power output produced from the parallel arrays
around 1pF. The authors presented the initial tests of the was around 10 μW.
capacitor on a vibration system generating a high voltage Salem et al. [22] in 2007 presented a novel technique
output of 2.3 kV when the capacitor was charged by a voltage employing a switchable dielectric constant for enhancing the
source of 26 V. This corresponds to an energy conversion rate power delivered by electrostatic converters. Their approach
of 2.4 μJ per cycle, or 24 μW at a vibration frequency of provides power 103 times greater than that provided by
10Hz. conventional MEMS devices. They also considered potential
Despesse et al. [16] presented an in-plane gap closing technical challenges associated with viscous damping and
structure with an interesting rectangular structure where the time response of the device. They estimated the time response
capacitance density can be increased by using triangles of the device as varying from 100 μs to 300 μs, depending on
fingers. The gaps can be adjusted easily by adjusting the the device size.
finger overlaps and then adapting the structure to vibration Talal [23] in her PhD thesis presented an electrostatic
conditions in order to maximize capacitance variation. The energy conversion method utilizes a change in the dielectric
achieved output power was 16 μW per gram over a frequency constant of the material between capacitor plates. The author
band between 20-100 Hz, with an efficiency of 60 %. suggested that by changing the actual material between the

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 Journal of Clean Energy Technologies, Vol. 5, No. 5, September 2017

plates, it pumps energy into a storage device. The devices

have fixed capacitance geometries such as gap and area but
modify the dielectric permittivity by allowing a set of two
fluids with two different dielectric constants to flow between
fixed plates. (a) (b)
Fig. 3. Electret based electrostatic converters. (a) Dipole orientation and (b)
Charge injection.

IV. ELECTROSTATIC HARVESTER CONVERSION MECHANISMS

Torres et al. [26] in 2010 reported a self-tuning
There are three main techniques used for the electrostatic battery-constrained electrostatic energy harvester integrated
conversion mechanism: switched constant charge systems, circuit IC that adapts to changing battery voltages to produce
switched constant voltage systems and continuous usable power from vibrations across the entire battery voltage
electret-based systems. operating range. Their prototype keeps the variable capacitor
The electret-free capacitors operate in either charge- or voltage constant so that kinetic energy in vibrations can
voltage-constrained systems so there are two possible generate and direct current into the battery when capacitance
extremes of operation, as shown in Fig. 2. In both cases, the decreases. The reported pre-charger circuit is unlike other
mechanical work done is converted into electrical energy. In inductive based circuits, which charge the variable capacitor
this method harvesters need an external power source for to battery voltage and adapt to a constantly shifting battery
pre-charging the capacitor in order to generate electricity. voltage. The proposed pre-charger circuit has a self-tuning
On the other hand, the electret-based devices are very reference system.
similar to electret free devices. The main difference is the Kwon et al. [27] presented a design for low-power
additional electret layers that are applied to one or both plates switched-inductor converters capable of producing high net
of the capacitor for polarisation purposes. Currently available energy gains, using a switched-inductor, voltage-constrained
electrostatic harvesters tend to use electret-based devices electrostatic power stage.
more. However, the manufacturing process is complicated,
being very similar to that for magnets. It entails injecting an B. Switched Constant Charge Systems
excess of charge in a dielectric layer or heating the dielectric Haas et al. [28] presented a novel voltage step-up converter
layer above its melting temperature. The layer is then left to based on a charge-constrained variable parallel-plate
cool down to maintain an electric field. This allows the capacitor in combination with an electrostatic actuator.
dipoles of the dielectric layer to be oriented in the same Electrical equivalent circuit and system level Simulink
direction as the electric field [1], as shown in Fig. 3. models were developed. Based on these models, the authors
A summary of the various conversion mechanism is analysed the design parameters and expected device
presented next based on literature published in the last few performance to provide a starting point for prototype
years. implementation.
Yen et al. [29] presented a design for a variable
A. Switched Constant Voltage Systems
capacitance vibration energy harvester that combines an
Torres et al. [24] in 2009 reported a voltage-constrained asynchronous diode-based charge pump circuit with an
electrostatic CMOS harvester. The authors explained how inductive energy flyback circuit to deliver 1.8 μW to a
much energy is available in such a system before and after resistive load. The complete harvester operates under
harvesting, and offered energy conversion schemes for constant charge with only one gated MOSFET for energy
increasing net energy gain during all operational phases. flyback control, which greatly simplifies switching control
In the same year, the same group of researchers [25] and avoids time management issues. The authors explained
reported a prototype circuit that pre-charges, detects and that the system requires a start-up voltage of less than 89 mV,
synchronizes to a variable voltage-constrained capacitor. The indicating that it can be initially charged by a piezoelectric
authors verified experimentally that it is possible to harvest film.
energy using the electrostatic principle. Their experimental Galayko et al. [30] presented an analysis and system design
results showed that the system harvests 9.7 nJ/cycle by for a capacitive harvester of vibration energy composed from
investing 1.7 nJ/cycle, for a net energy gain of approximately a mechanical resonator, capacitive transducer and a
8 nJ/cycle at an average of 1.6 μW for every 200 pF variation. conditioning circuit based on the buck DC-DC converter
architecture with auto-adaptation to external vibration
changes. The authors explained in detail the charge pump
operation and presented a QV diagram of the operation.
Dudka et al. [31] designed and modelled a calibration
block for a harvester based on a charge pump concept which
adapts the operating parameter of the conditioning circuit to
the external vibrations. They improved on the basic
architecture by adding a second output to the existing flyback
(a) (b)
circuit DC-DC convertor. This allows low DC voltage to be
Fig. 2. Two methods of obtaining energy using a variable capacitor: (a) generated for the load without using an additional DC-DC
Constant charge; (b) Constant voltage. convertor, which would require an additional inductor.

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Raafat et al. [32] proposed a design for a piezoelectric with an inter-digitised capacitive structure biased by electrets.
voltage generator integrated with electrostatic structure to The work proposed a novel collision-based energy
provide the necessary voltage. In this way, the system is conversion method. Based on their theoretical results, they
self-initializing and autonomous. The harvester is proposed a method that generates high coupling efficiency at
CMOS-compatible based on a charge pump circuit. low vibration frequency. The authors found that the device is
Florentino et al. [33] reported a variable capacitor and capable of harvesting output power of 0.58 µW and an
switch circuit architecture for the buck converter. The buck available power density of 41.67 µW/mm3 at 2 Hz collision
converter is used to step down the voltage harvested when the input. The authors suggested that the collision method could
charge applied across the capacitor is constant. The authors be used to harvest vibration energy at random and low
investigated the performance of the switch circuit in relation frequencies.
to the amount of energy loss, suggesting that the main reason Suzuki et al. [40] presented the concept, design, simulation,
for losses is the size of the transistor. They developed their fabrication and evaluation of a novel micro generator based
circuit in the Cadence software using high voltage on electrostatic induction. The authors developed an
components that can support voltages up to 50 V. The asymmetric electret gammadion spring electrode for wide
presented circuit loses less than 4% of transferred energy. band vibration with three vibration modes. For mode 1, the
Kempitiya et al. [34] presented an electrostatic generator maximum power output generated was 7.48nW at 110 Hz; for
with asynchronous control and charge flyback mechanism to mode 2, it was 2.19 nW at 165 Hz; and for mode 3 it was 1.72
optimise the useful energy generated by the harvester. The nW at 243 Hz. They suggested that their method solves the
authors’ theoretical and experimental investigations showed problem associated with narrow operation frequency
that there is an optimum value for the storage capacitor and bandwidth, which strictly limits power output under normal
the cycle number for maximum scavenging of ambient energy. wideband vibrations.
The analysis also indicated that the most energy can be Altena et al. [41] in 2013 presented many improvements
harvested when mechanical and electrical events are for an electret based electrostatic harvester. The device was
synchronised. Their theoretical results were confirmed by initially able to generate a power output of 175 µW but after
measurements on an electrostatic converter prototype with an improvement with a higher resonance frequency and higher
asynchronous energy harvesting circuit. electret potential, it was capable of generating 497µW AC
power, which is the highest reported power for electret based
C. Continuous Electret Based Systems
harvesters. The authors suggested two improvements to the
Sterken et al. [35] proposed a device with a vibration design: first, improvements to the electrical connections of
sensitive variable capacitor polarized by an electret as new the harvester; second, to the electrode geometrical setup.
approach to mechanical energy harvesting using an
electrostatic converter. The vibration causes changes in the
capacitance resulting in harvesting current to a load circuit. V. COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF CONVERSION MECHANISMS
The authors proposed a prototype design based on an
A number of comparative studies of the switched constant
MPW-service. The prototype was able to generate power of
charge and constant voltage systems have been reported in the
50 pW.
literature. A summary of these studies are presented in this
Naruse et al. [36] developed an electrostatic micro power
section.
generator with vibration structure and new electret electrode
Meninger [42] and a group of researchers at MIT working
for low frequency energy harvesting applications. The authors
on electrostatic generators were the first group to present an
suggested that it has the advantage of being usable for high
electrostatic micro generator work in the literature. They
power structures because of both the controlled gap between
described and compared in detail the constant charge and
electrodes and the low frequency vibrations. The generator
constant voltage approaches. By using QV charge-voltage
was able to generate a 40µW of power output at very low
cycle plots, they reported that constant voltage operation is
frequency vibrations of around 2 Hz.
better than constant charge operation for maximising power
Edamoto et al. [37] developed a vibration-based electret
generation. The authors were capable of achieving constant
generator for energy harvesting applications. The spring
voltage operation by attaching a large fixed capacitor in
material used was Parylene for low frequency vibrations. The
parallel with the variable capacitor. They noted that the larger
adopted structure was a gap change for capacitance variation.
the parallel capacitor the more power is generated, although
At frequencies as low as 21 Hz, a large in-plane amplitude of
more initial energy loss occurs.
0.5 mm was achieved. The authors demonstrated LED
Further information on constant charge and constant
operation from the generator using a low-power-consumption
voltage is given in Miranda's Ph.D. thesis [43]. The author
impedance conversion circuit.
presented a simulation of a variable capacitor and power
Miki et al. [38] developed an electret power generator
electronics in Matlab, using the parameters of an off-the shelf
driven by electromechanical vibration. The experimental data
MOSFET. The author concluded that power electronics for
were directly compared with the model characteristics. The
constant charge are easier to implement than constant voltage.
authors found that the circuit parameters should be optimized
However, constant voltage systems generate low level
depending on the oscillation conditions. They also found that
voltages within the breakdown limits of standard IC process
the electrostatic damping force acting on the seismic mass
technologies.
depends on the power management and rectification circuits.
Mitcheson et al. [44] compared three main types of
Bu et al. [39] reported an electrostatic energy harvester

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electrostatic micro generator conversion mechanisms: must be stepped down to lower voltages to be suitable for
constant voltage, constant charge switched and electret based powering low power loads. The suggested solution for this
continuous. The authors considered that the switched types problem was the use of a fly-back step-down converter.
can be controlled easily to perform maximal power point Beeby et al. [45] reviewed the use of kinetic energy
tracking. However, this increases the complexity of the harvesting as a potential power supply for wireless
associated circuitry required to control the switching devices. applications. The authors studied three types of electrostatic
The authors also suggested that, for large electrostatic forces, harvesters: in-plane overlap converters; in-plane gap closing
constant charge designs are preferable. converters; out-of-plane gap closing converters. The authors
Mitcheson and his team studied the power processing suggested that all the three types can be operated in both
requirements of electrostatic harvesters, specifically for the charge-constrained and voltage-constrained cycles. They
constant charge approach. The authors highlighted issues with argued that the voltage-constrained approach generates more
this approach, explaining that the harvester works with small energy than the charge-constrained approach. However, by
amounts of charge at high voltage. The authors described how, using a parallel capacitor in charge-constrained systems,
when the generator experiences acceleration, the capacitance energy levels can reach those of voltage-constrained systems
of the variable capacitor decreases and the voltage rises. In because parallel capacitors effectively constrain the voltage
typical operation, the voltage generated on the capacitor across the energy harvesting variable capacitor.
plates can reach a few hundred volts so the harvested voltage

TABLE I: COMPARISON OF VARIABLE CAPACITORS USED IN ELECTROSTATIC HARVESTERS

Research Harvester Capacitance Power
Device structure Features/ Fabrication difficulties
team type range capability

 Needs power processing

Le et. al  Resonance- based
In plane 203.7 - 134.7
(2009)
overlap pF
0.6 µW  Fringing field has negative
[48] effect on power output

 High output power of 250 µW

Av = 2.4 wnen V= 50V, R=10 MΩ
Kiziroglou
Rolling rod  Needs power processing - step
et. al (2009) 10 - 2 pF
harvester 250 µW down converter
[10]
 High cost fabrication processes.

 Capacitance increases with the

increase in the number of poles
O’Donnell Varying  Can be used for HVDC systems
et. al (2009) capacitance 40 – 9 pF 100 µW  3 D finite-element analysis
[12] machine software is used to model the
capacitor

 The gap between fingers must

Despesse et be higher than the relative
In plane gap
al. (2008) - 16 µW displacement amplitude
closing
[16]  The system needs an initial
energy source to be polarized


 Needs power processing and

rectification
 Power output depends on thickness
of electret, gap between electret,
Tsutsumino CYTOP
counter electrode and overlapping
et.al (2006) electret 25.4 – 39.8 pF 280 μW
area
[49] generator
 Power is generated when 20 Hz
oscillation with 4 MW external load
is used.

 Uses angular vertical comb-drive

Nguyen. et. al
Tunable actuators
(2002) 1.34 – 0.32 pF -
capacitor  Uses glass substrate to reduce
[50]
parasitic capacitances

 Used with oscillating, polarized

charge pump
 Homo-polar electret is used which
contains real charges of only one
Reznikov et.
Electrostatic 0.2 – 4.5 sign and charge of opposite sign
al (2010) 0.75 µW
swing harvester pF which is induced in available
[13]
electrodes
 Provides DC current output with
voltage greater than 3 V

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VI. COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF CAPACITOR STRUCTURES VII. CONCLUSION

Roundy et al. [46] presented a useful comparison between Electrostatic harvesters are compact converters with a
in-plane overlap and gap-closing converters as shown in Fig. simple structure. The energy density of these devices can be
4. The authors suggested that the number of fingers for the easily modified by changing the structure of the capacitor.
in-plane gap closing converter is a function of the maximum This represents a potential solution to developing the market
deflection of the flexures; this is due to the fact that the fingers of energy harvesting powered applications by making it
must be spaced far enough apart to accommodate the possible to develop low-cost energy harvesting devices. The
displacement. Therefore, lower maximum and minimum design of an electrostatic energy converter depends mainly
capacitances result from higher spring deflections. However, upon the structure of the variable capacitor and the conversion
this is not the case with in-plane overlap converters, where mechanism approach. Research studies have presented a wide
more power is harvested when larger spring deflections are range of possible structures and approaches that can be
applied. The authors claim that in-plane overlap designs are adopted. However, the proposed structures and approaches
more sensitive to parasitic capacitance than gap-closing presented in the literature so far have both advantages and
converters. drawbacks.
Lim et al. [47] compared detailed models of three different The choice of capacitor structure depends on the type of
design concepts: in-plane overlap converter; in-plane mechanical energy applied: rotational motion or vibration.
gap-closing converter; out-of-plane gap-closing converter. Both types can be extracted from kinetic energy. Variable
The authors evaluated and compared the three design area capacitor appears to be more suitable for harvesting
concepts based on simulations and practical considerations. rotational energy. Area of the capacitor plates can be
The simulations results indicated that the highest power modified easily by the rotational mechanical energy. While a
density is available from in-plane gap-closing converters, variable gap capacitor works mostly with vibrations.
followed by out-of-plane gap-closing converters and finally Moreover, variable area structures can be easily fabricated to
in-plane overlap converters. The authors suggested that, to electret free – air capacitors. It is relatively easy to increase
improve the power capabilities of the in-plane overlap, the capacitance by increasing the surface area of the capacitor
surface area of the capacitor plates needs to be increased to plates.
produce more energy. The choice of conversion mechanism depends on the
variable capacitor structure. As highlighted in the paper, the
conversion mechanism can use either continuous or switched
systems. The continuous approach is an electret-based
approach that requires a polarisation source and special
fabrication processes. While the switched constant voltage
and constant charge approaches are easier to implement, they
require switching control circuitry. Comparing the constant
voltage and constant charge approaches, it is noticeable that
(a) (b) the former offers more energy. Therefore, it is more
appropriate for electrostatic energy harvesting provided that it
generates low voltages within the breakdown limits of
standard IC process technologies. On the other hand, the
constant charge approach fits few types of electrostatic
harvesters, especially for large electrostatic forces. The
electrostatic force depends on the dimensions of the capacitor,
the proof mass and the operating condition. It is more difficult
to achieve high electrostatic forces using constant voltage
(c)
Fig. 4. Vibration-based electrostatic harvesting devices (a) In-plane overlap
structures than constant charge structures. For this reason,
converter (b) In-plane gap-closing converter and (c) Out-of-plane gap-closing constant charge is more suitable when large electrostatic
converter. forces are required.

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The 14th International Conference on Solid State Sensors, Actuator an Assistance Professor in 2009.
and Micro Systems, Lyon, France, pp. 863-866, 2007. Dr. Taha current research interests include electrostatic generators and
[50] H. Nguyen, D. Hah, P. R. Patterson, W. Piywattanametha, and M. C. piezoelectric micro generators. Dr. Taha is a Fellow of the Iraqi Engineering
Wu, “A novel MEMS tunable capacitor based on angular vertical comb union and a member of the Institution of Electrical and Electronics
drive actuators,” Solid-State Sensor, Actuator and Microsystems Engineers (IEEE) and currently researcher in Windsor University, Ontario,
Workshop, pp. 277-280, 2002. Canada.

Rita Tareq Aljadiri was born in Diyala, Iraq, in Paul Ivey is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering
1984. She received the BEng degree (with honors) in and currently he is Pro Vice-Chancellor Engagement,
electronics engineering from Coventry University/ Enterprise and Research, Birmingham City
Emirates Aviation College, Dubai, in 2008, and the University, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
MBA in aviation management from Coventry Earlier he was the dean of faculty for Engineering
University in 2010. and Computing (E&C) at Coventry University. He
In 2014, she received her PhD degree in electronic has approximately 100 publications including 4 book
engineering from Coventry University, United contributions and 3 patents, has supervised over 20
Kingdom. Ph.D studies and earned in excess of £13M of
In 2005, Dr. Aljadiri joined the Engineering Department, Emirates research income. He is a visiting Professor to the Emirates Aviation College,
Aviation College as electronic laboratory engineer, and in 2007 became an Emirates Airline.
engineering lecturer. Her research interests include wind energy harvesting The E&C faculty has a turnover of £40M and 3800 u/g, 580 p/g, and 120
systems, electrostatic devices, power electronics, avionics systems, power doctoral research students, another 5400 students educated overseas via 12
processing and conditioning for low power systems. educational partnerships on 4 continents and comprises a High Performance
Computing Facility, a Design Institute, the award winning SIGMA maths
support centre (winner 2011 Times Higher Education Award for
Luay Yassin Taha was born in Basra, Iraq, in 1959. Outstanding Support for Students) and six departments: Civil Engineering
He received the BSc degree in electrical engineering Architecture and Building, Mechanical and Automotive Engineering,
from the University of Basra, Iraq, in 1980. He Computing, Engineering Management, Aerospace and Electrical /
received the MSc degree in control engineering from Electronic Engineering and Mathematics and Control Engineering.
the University of Technology Baghdad, Iraq, in 1985. The faculty has worked with the Royal Academy of Engineering and MIT
In 2009 he received the Ph.D. degree in micro on two successive reviews of educational practice for Engineers and
engineering and nanotechnology from the National Technologists, and supports a Royal Academy of Engineering Academic
university of Malaysia (UKM University), Bangi, Champion, 2 Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Teaching Fellows and
Malaysia. a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor.
In 1986, he joined the scientific research council, centre of electronics and
computer researches, as a researcher in homomorphic signal processing and
in programmable instrumentation. In 1987 he joined the institute of
technology, department of electronics and computer engineering as a
Lecturer and in 1988 became a head of department. In September 1999 he
became a senior lecturer at Dubai Aviation College, engineering department.
In January 2002 he joined the Emirates Aviation College as a program
manager in Electronics and Computer engineering department, and became

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