Power consumption will create long-term technical challenges for the semiconductor industry because miniaturization of power supplies alone will not meet the needs for lifetime, robustness and scale of new devices. Also, threateningly high emission levels, global warming and burgeoning costs of carbon based fuel have compelled initiatives towards cleaner, economical energy production strategy. Energy harvesting offers many of the needed elements for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and meso scaled devices, though technology advancements are needed, particularly in materials development, to realize working devices.

The aim of this research is twofold: the development of mathematical models to describe the electromechanical behavior of relaxor-type ferroelectric materials; and implementation of these smart materials into hybrid power systems, via the development of algorithms for the design of hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting systems. Hybrid power generation, i.e. the use of two or more different power supply methods can, if done effectively, improve the lifetime (sustainability) and efficiency of single-source power supply systems. Furthermore, incorporation of regenerative power devices such as piezoelectric materials with other forms of power production methods like batteries and fossil fuel combustion, can lead to reduction of emissions, toxicity, mass and volume of the both MEMS and meso-scaled power systems.

This work focuses on the following:

·  Development of constitutive relationships for nonlinear piezoelectric materials

· Expansion of conventional laminate theory to include piezoelectric composite materials

· Development of expressions relating cyclic lifetime of piezoelectric material subjected to various loading conditions

· Development of scalability limitations for piezoelectric materials for meso scaled devices

· Creation of algorithms for design of hybrid piezoelectric energy system