Dong Yeol Hyeon, a senior at Kyungpook National University‘s School of Material Science and Engineering, has developed a high-performance piezoelectric device with a new structure by optimizing the surface shape of piezoelectric materials and introducing a pressure concentration layer.
The results of the research were published in the online edition of the SCI-level international journal ‘Composites Part B: Engineering (Top 1.648 percent based on JCR)’ on December 15.
Although piezoelectric devices that convert nearby mechanical energy sources into electrical energy are spotlighted for the application of next-generation power sources and self-generation sensors in low-power electronics, they have problems with low output performance and complex manufacturing processes.
The newly developed piezoelectric device was manufactured using only simple and low-cost processes, and when repeated pressure is applied from outside, it outputs voltage and current signals that are about 2.5 times better than conventional devices. Besides, it can operate a stopwatch and 200 LEDs, demonstrating its applicability as a power source for commercial electronics.
Professor Gwi-il Park said, “This research is meaningful in that we have proposed ways to improve the performance of piezoelectric devices at low cost through the new approach. In particular, the results of undergraduate students leading experiments and research as the first authors deserve attention as the paper was published in the top 1.648 percent of JCR’s journals.”