Energieharvester

Energieharvester, also known as energy harvesters or energy scavenging devices, are systems designed to capture and store small amounts of energy from ambient sources in the environment. These sources can include light, heat, vibration, radio frequency waves, or kinetic motion. The primary goal of an Energieharvester is to power low-power electronic devices, such as wireless sensors, embedded systems, and wearable technology, without the need for traditional batteries or wired power connections.

The collected energy is typically converted into electrical energy and stored in a rechargeable battery or supercapacitor. This stored energy can then be used to power the device when needed. The efficiency of an Energieharvester is a critical factor, as the amount of energy available from ambient sources is often very small. Different types of harvesters are optimized for specific energy sources. For example, photovoltaic harvesters utilize solar energy, thermoelectric harvesters convert heat differences into electricity, and piezoelectric harvesters capture energy from mechanical vibrations.

Energieharvesters are particularly useful in applications where battery replacement is difficult or impossible, such as remote environmental monitoring stations, implantable medical devices, or self-powered smart sensors in infrastructure. The development of smaller, more efficient, and cost-effective energy harvesting technologies is an ongoing area of research and development, aiming to enable a wider range of autonomous and sustainable electronic systems.