Magnetoelectric energy harvesting from kHz to GHz

The need for new type of energy harvesters is growing in demand with the advancement in sensor technologies and electronic devices, particularly in high frequencies. The energy harvesters absorb ambient energy and provide sustainable power to the wireless sensor nodes. Among the most popular sources of ambient energies such as solar, vibration, wind, and electromagnetic waves, magnetoelectric harvesters absorb the ambient magnetic fields. Magnetoelectric (ME) energy harvesting is especially attractive owing to the noncontact type of energy transfer enabling the deployment of IoT systems without the use of external batteries or the associated maintenance. The self-powered IoT systems require compact, lightweight, large bandwidth, and high-power density energy harvesters for their sustained operation. The energy in magnetic fields around any current carrying wire could potentially be harvested by a magnetoelectric harvester. Magnetoelectric harvesters are composed of piezoelectric and magnetoelectric material layers forming a resonating structure. The harvesters operating at sub 100Hz have been extensively studied by several researchers. However, considering the principle of operation of magnetoelectric harvesters and its performance dependence on the frequency of operation, the present chapter focuses on understanding the performance of the magnetoelectric harvesters at high frequencies in the range of kHz to GHz.