This paper is about a new manufacturing process aimed at developing stable SiO2/Si3N4 patterned electrets using a Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) step for an application in electret-based Vibration Energy Harvesters (e-VEH). This process consists in forming continuous layers of SiO2/Si3N4 electrets in order to limit surface conduction phenomena and is a new way to see the problem of electret patterning. Experimental results prove that patterned electrets charged by a positive corona discharge show excellent stability with high surface charge densities that may reach 5mC/m^2 on 1.1\mu m-thick layers, even with fine patterning and harsh temperature conditions (up to 250{\deg}C). This paves the way to new e-VEH designs and manufacturing processes.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1205.2383,
title = {New DRIE-Patterned Electrets for Vibration Energy Harvesting},
author = {S. Boisseau and A. -B. Duret and J. -J. Chaillout and G. Despesse},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.2383},
year = {2012}
}