Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape 7601, South Africa
Van Den Heever, T.S., Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape 7601, South Africa; Perold, W.J., Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape 7601, South Africa
The manufacturing process of a zinc oxide piezoelectric nanogenerator is discussed in detail. The manufacturing of the nanogenerator on solid and flexible substrate is discussed. It is shown that the choice of substrate greatly affects the output voltage of the nanogenerator. Two main reasons for the difference in output voltage of the different nanogenerators are the method in which the nanowires are bent and the contact resistance between the nanowires and the gold electrode. The influence of these two aspects on the output voltage is discussed and the theory is shown to correctly predict the outcome. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.