Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.3
3.4
Journals
Sensors
Special Issues
Advances in Energy Harvesting and Sensor Systems
sensors-logo
Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Sensors Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Advances in Energy Harvesting and Sensor Systems

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 8124

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yi Xi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Physics, College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China
Interests: piezoelectric; triboelectric nanogenerators for mechanical energy harvesting from ambient environments; self-powered sensor system for mechanical energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Jin Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology & Systems, Department of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Interests: sensing technology; self-power technology; information acquisition and processing technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Hulin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Interests: triboelectric nanogenerators for mechanical energy harvesting; self-powered wearable sensor of thermoelectric gel
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Undoubtedly, research on environmental energy conversions and harvesting has recently been a topic of significant interest; multiple energy harvesting devices have been exploited as well, including solar cells, thermoelectric generators, electromagnetic generators (EMGs), piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs), triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), and so on. For this Special Issue, we welcome high-quality submissions that describe original and unpublished research contributions advancing the frontiers of energy harvesting devices and self-powered sensor systems, with particular emphasis on efficient energy harvesting and high-performance self-powered sensing systems.

Prof. Dr. Yi Xi
Prof. Dr. Jin Yang
Prof. Dr. Hulin Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sensor
  • self-powered sensor
  • energy conversion and harvesting
  • information acquisition and processing

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 1900 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Area Density of Polysilicon Thermocouples on Thermoelectric Performance
by Shih-Ming Yang, Zen-Wen Lai and Ai-Lin Liu
Sensors 2025, 25(4), 1098; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25041098 - 12 Feb 2025
Viewed by 391
Abstract
Thermoelectric energy generators (TEGs) that can convert body heat into electricity are considered most promising to drive wearable devices. Many TEG designs with a polysilicon thermocouple have been proposed for implementation in high-yield semi-conductor foundry services. This study shows that the area density, [...] Read more.
Thermoelectric energy generators (TEGs) that can convert body heat into electricity are considered most promising to drive wearable devices. Many TEG designs with a polysilicon thermocouple have been proposed for implementation in high-yield semi-conductor foundry services. This study shows that the area density, defined by the number of thermocouples per mm2, is a better index than the fill factor in evaluating TEG performance. The effects of thermocouple length, width, and spacing (between the adjacent thermocouples) on area density, and hence on TEG performance, are analyzed. For a TEG with 33 × 1 μm (length × width) co-planar thermocouples (P- and N-thermoleg side by side) and 1 μm spacing between two adjacent thermocouples, the area density is 4902 thermocouples per mm2 and it can deliver a 0.110 μW/cm2K2 power factor and a 12.906 V/cm2K voltage factor. The performance can be improved further by 57 × 1 μm stacked thermocouples (P-thermoleg above N-thermoleg) with a higher area density 8621 to achieve results of 0.110 μW/cm2K2 and 22.638 V/cm2K. Such a high area density not only increases TEG performance, but also improves the DC–DC converter efficiency. A 5 × 5 mm2 TEG chip with co-planar or stacked thermocouples is shown to deliver above 3 μW and over 3 V when operating at a 10 °C temperature difference. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Harvesting and Sensor Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

26 pages, 12438 KiB  
Article
Development and Performance Evaluation of Enhanced Piezo-Electric Sensor Cum Energy Harvester Based on Flexural Strain Amplification in Real-Life Field Conditions
by Sreenitya Singamsetty, Naveet Kaur and Suresh Bhalla
Sensors 2025, 25(4), 1063; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25041063 - 11 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2898
Abstract
Driven by technological advancements and accelerated infrastructure development, an increase in the need to monitor the performance of prominent structures such as bridges, metro-corridors, and sea-link bridges is being advocated by experts to predict and minimize any hazards resulting from the degradation of [...] Read more.
Driven by technological advancements and accelerated infrastructure development, an increase in the need to monitor the performance of prominent structures such as bridges, metro-corridors, and sea-link bridges is being advocated by experts to predict and minimize any hazards resulting from the degradation of the structures over time. However, accessing and replacing the batteries becomes problematic and expensive when the sensors are instrumented in remote areas of the bridge structures, especially when the sensors are embedded. For these reasons, a strong case can be made for harvesting and storing ambient energy from the surroundings to drive the sensors for structural health monitoring (SHM). This study aims to introduce a new trapezoidal strain-amplifying sensor/energy harvester (TSAH) for civil engineering structures that uses flexural strain amplification to enhance energy harvesting from structural vibrations. TSAH also serves as a sensor for integrated energy harvesting and SHM. This article examines the influence of the geometric properties of TSAH on strain amplification via numerical investigations under a specific set of external loads. Based on numerical studies, the sensors are bonded to the trapezoidal strain-amplifying plate to develop and assess the TSAH. Experimental investigations were carried out first in the laboratory to evaluate the effectiveness of the TSAH over the directly bonded (DB) sensors with two different types of piezo-transducers for energy harvesting. The host structure was exposed to impact and shaker vibrations for the laboratory research. For the various scenarios taken into consideration in the study, the typical amplification factor for peak voltage is determined to be between 1.45 and 3.75, while for the power, it is between 1.09 and 6.08. Further, for field verification, the TSAH configuration was evaluated on a real-life bridge structure, viz the Chipiyana rail over-bridge (ROB), Asia’s heaviest steel ROB located on the Delhi–Meerut expressway. The field experiments also establish the superior performance of TSAH, with an amplification factor ranging from 1.75 to 3.75 for peak voltage and 3.75 to 5.53 for peak power. As compared to the previously proposed curved configuration in the literature, the TSAH configuration is suitable for brittle sensors as well. Its ability to be permanently bonded by epoxy/welding, or temporarily using magnets, bolts, or clamps, offers it versatility over other surface bonded/embedded configurations. As a result of this, it imparts reusability in case of any damage, which promotes the goal of sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Harvesting and Sensor Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 8386 KiB  
Article
Polarization-Insensitive, High-Efficiency Metasurface with Wide Reception Angle for Energy Harvesting Applications
by Abdulrahman Ahmed Ghaleb Amer, Nurmiza Othman, Mohammed M. Bait-Suwailamn, Syarfa Zahirah Sapuan, Ali Ahmed Ali Salem and Adeb Salh
Sensors 2025, 25(2), 429; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25020429 - 13 Jan 2025
Viewed by 969
Abstract
This research presents an innovative polarization-insensitive metasurface (MS) harvester designed for energy harvesting applications at 5 GHz, capable of operating efficiently over wide reception angles. The proposed MS features a novel wheel-shaped resonator array whose symmetrical structure ensures insensitivity to the polarization of [...] Read more.
This research presents an innovative polarization-insensitive metasurface (MS) harvester designed for energy harvesting applications at 5 GHz, capable of operating efficiently over wide reception angles. The proposed MS features a novel wheel-shaped resonator array whose symmetrical structure ensures insensitivity to the polarization of incident electromagnetic (EM) waves, enabling efficient energy absorption and minimizing reflections. Unlike conventional designs, the metasurface achieves near-unity harvesting efficiency, exceeds 94% under normal incidence, and maintains superior performance across various incident angles for TE and TM polarizations. To validate the design, a 5 × 5-unit cell array of the MS structure was fabricated and experimentally tested, demonstrating excellent agreement between simulation and measurement results. This work significantly advances metasurface-based energy harvesting by combining polarization insensitivity, wide-angle efficiency, and high absorption, making it a compelling solution for powering wireless sensor networks in next-generation applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Harvesting and Sensor Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1418 KiB  
Article
Theoretical and Experimental Study of Energy-Harvesting and Movement-Sensing Solutions in Pneumatic Systems
by Monica Tiboni, Federico Scassola, Alessandro Zanacchi and Marco Ghidini
Sensors 2024, 24(23), 7732; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237732 - 3 Dec 2024
Viewed by 3667
Abstract
This paper presents an experimentally based study aimed at assessing the viability of employing a commercial energy harvester to develop a self-powered end-stroke and speed sensor for pneumatic cylinders. An energy-harvesting device was integrated into a cylinder end-cap to recover energy from the [...] Read more.
This paper presents an experimentally based study aimed at assessing the viability of employing a commercial energy harvester to develop a self-powered end-stroke and speed sensor for pneumatic cylinders. An energy-harvesting device was integrated into a cylinder end-cap to recover energy from the piston impact at the end of the stroke. The recovered energy powers a radio transmitter that communicates the reach of the end-stroke. This avoids the use of a dedicated end-stroke sensor, reducing the number of components in the system and also saving energy. The experiments aimed to analyze the signal characteristics generated by the module at various activation speeds, assessing whether the impact speed could be distinguished from the signal. Energy output and short-term usage effects were also investigated. The study seeks to further develop and adapt a Simulink model of the system, based on recent studies, and validate it with experimental findings at the tested activation speeds. Following confirmation of the adapted model’s validity, the authors propose using genetic algorithms to design an optimized mechanical energy harvester. This approach aims to find the parameters of an energy harvester more suitable for pneumatic cylinder applications that would enable enhanced energy extraction and overall improved performances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Harvesting and Sensor Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop