July 16, 2012 — Energy harvesting has great potential to power remote devices, portable electronics, or any system that is difficult to keep powered or replace batteries. Making use of ambient energy would enable virtually unlimited operation of an electronic device. The energy harvester is either the primary power source or it is used for extending battery life.

Solar, thermal, wind, kinetic, and electromagnetic energy sources can be exploited by energy harvesters. Energy harvesters have have been used for years in military and industrial applications and in remote monitoring for oil and gas industry. Now, micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) are beginning to enable better energy harvesting products, says Semico.

Low-volume MEMS-based energy harvesters are currently available. The price for a MEMS-based technology is still too high for most large-volume applications. If energy harvesting can be scaled down to the MEMS form factor, it would not only add to the existing energy harvester sector, but open new applications in wearable electronics, personal medical devices, consumer electronics, smartphones and automotive, says Semico. While the market for MEMS-based systems is very small now, Semico sees high growth potential.

Also read: Energy-harvesting MEMS win additional NYSERDA funding

and NPL focuses on characterization of MEMS energy harvesting devices

Semico’s report, "MEMS Energy Harvesting: An Early Growing Season," examines the key players in MEMS energy harvesting, the current performance capabilities of these products, key applications that can drive the growth of MEMS energy harvesting, ways to spur growth, and the size of the MEMS energy harvester market by 2020.

Semico is a semiconductor marketing & consulting research company. Access reports and learn more at www.semico.com.

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