Electricity generation through Footsteps using Gallium

Nitride

Abstract Requirement of todays world is to solve the energy

crisis. The solution for this should not only solve the current
requirement but also should provide future resource in a nonpolluting way. This paper gives detailed information about the
electricity generation through footsteps using gallium nitride.
Gallium nitride plates are installed under the pavement blocks so
that on walking produces electricity and exposing to temperature
changes also produces electricity. Depending on the amount of
pressure given to the plates, electricity is obtained from gallium
nitride plates. GaN is a pyro electric material. It can withstand
any temperature and hard weather .Exposing to mechanical
vibration or temperature changes it produces charges which can
be stored permanently.

I. INTRODUCTION
The basic principle with which GaN produces power is by
pyroelectricity. Pyroelectricity is the ability of certain
materials to generate a temporary voltage when they are
heated or cooled .The change in temperature modifies the
positions of the atoms slightly within the crystal structure,
such that the polarization of the material changes. This
polarization change gives rise to a voltage across the crystal.
If the temperature stays constant at its new value, the
pyroelectric voltage gradually disappears due to leakage
current.All pyroelectric materials are also piezoelectric, the
two properties being closely related. Some piezoelectric
materials have a crystal symmetry that does not allow
pyroelectricity.
Some pyroelectric materials are gallium
nitride (GaN), caesium nitrate (CsNO3), polyvinyl fluorides,
derivatives of phenylpyrazine, and cobalt phthalocyanine.
Pyroelectricity can be visualized as one side of a triangle,
where each corner represents energy states in the
crystal: kinetic, electrical and thermal energy. The side
between electrical and thermal corners represents the
pyroelectric effect and produces no kinetic energy. The side
between kinetic and electrical corners represents
the piezoelectric effect and produces no heat.Although
artificial pyroelectric materials have been engineered, the
effect was first discovered in minerals such as tourmaline. The
pyroelectric effect is also present in both bone and tendon.
II. GALLIUM NITRIDE-A PYROELECTRIC MATERIAL

Gallium
nitride (GaN)
is
a
binary III/V direct
bandgap semiconductor commonly used in bright lightemitting diodes since the 1990s. The compound is a very hard
material that has a Wurtzite crystal structure. Its wide band gap of
3.4 eV affords it special properties for applications in optoelectronic,

high-power and high-frequency devices. For example, GaN is

the substrate which makes violet (405 nm) laser diodes
possible, without use of nonlinear optical frequency.
Its sensitivity to ionizing radiation is low (like
other group III nitrides), making it a suitable material for solar
cell arrays for satellites. Because GaN transistors can operate
at much hotter temperatures and work at much higher voltages
than gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistors, they make ideal
power amplifiers at microwave frequencies.
A. Physical Properties
GaN is a very hard, mechanically stable wide bandgap
semiconductor material with high heat capacity and thermal
conductivity. In its pure form it resists cracking and can be
deposited in thin film on sapphire or silicon carbide, despite
the mismatch in their lattice constants. GaN can
be doped with silicon(Si) or with oxygen to n-type and with
magnesium (Mg) to p-type; however, the Si and Mg atoms
change the way the GaN crystals grow, introducing tensile and
making them brittle. Gallium nitride compounds also tend to
have a high spatial defect frequency, on the order of a hundred
million to ten billion defects per square centimeter. The
toxicology of GaN has not been fully investigated. The dust is
an irritant to skin, eyes and lungs. The environment, health
and safety aspects of gallium nitride sources (such
as trimethylgallium andammonia) and industrial hygiene
monitoring studies of MOVPE sources have been reported
recently in a review.
B. Synthesis
GaN crystals can be grown from a molten Na/Ga melt held
under 100 atm pressure of N2 at 750 C. As Ga will not react
with N2 below 1000 C, the powder must be made from
something more reactive, usually in one of the following
ways:
2 Ga + 2 NH3 2 GaN + 3 H2
Ga2O3 + 2 NH3 2 GaN + 3 H2O

C.Structure of GaN:
In the figure shown below :
Yellow represents gallium
White represents Nitride ions

Consider the crystal to be galiium Nitride,when no force is

applied on it, no current is indicated by the ammeter. The
chargers inside the crystal are found to be static such that
there is no flow of current.the figure below shows the zero
current flow in the ammeter.

Crystal
+-+-+-

III.PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT ON GALLIUM NITRIDE

Appearance of an electric potential across certain faces of a
crystal when it is subjected to mechanical pressure.
The word originates from the greek word piezein, which
means to press. Discovered in 1880 by Pierre Curie in
quartz crystals. Conversely, when an electric field is applied
to one of the faces of the crystal it undergoes mechanical
distortion.
Examples --- Quartz, Barium titanate, tourmaline
The effect is explained by the displacement of ions in crystals
that have a nonsymmetrical unit cell.When the crystal is
compressed, the ions in each unit cell are displaced, causing
the electric polarization of the unit cell. Because of the
regularity of crystalline structure, these effects accumulate,
causing the appearance of an electric potential difference
between certain faces of the crystal. When an external electric
field is applied to the crystal, the ions in each unit cell are
displaced by electrostatic forces, resulting in the mechanical
deformation of the whole crystal.

Charges cancel
each other, so
no current flow

+-+-+-

When the force is applied as show in the figure. due to

properties of symmetry the chagers are on net + on one side
and net on the opposite side. Due to this force, the crystal
becomes thinner in size.The current flow is indicated by
ammeter as shown
Force

Crystal

+++++

----Due to properties of symmetry,

charges are net + on one side &
net - on the opposite side: crystal gets
thinner and longer

Current Meter
deflects in +
direction

When the force on the gallium Nitride is applied in the

opposite direction as shown in the figure..the current is
produced in the opposite direction and it is indicated by the
ammeter. As a result,the crystal becomes shorter and fatter as
shown in figure.

Force

+++
+
----

. Changes the
direction of
current flow, and the
crystal gets
shorter and fatter.

VI. CONCLUSION
Since GaN
has more advantages than piezoelectric
materials(SiO2) and spring mechanism,it can be installed in
the pavement blocks such as busy street, the area which is
exposed to temperature variations.The obtained power can be
stored and it can be supplied to the sonsumers.

Current
Meter
deflects
in direction

IV.ELECTRICITY GENERATION THROUGH FOOTSETPS

3.USING GaN-A BEST PYROELECTRIC MATERIAL

As Japan tried piezo electric material in creating blocks,
GaN,a pyroelectric material can also be used. The GaN can
be made in the form of the plates.This can be installed in the
blocks,so when a normal average person walks on it it
produces voltage greater than 0.5 watts to 1.5 watts for
average person weighing 60kg.
GaN has both the qualities of piezoelectricy and
pyroeletricity.When there is a change in climatic conditions
,the GaN produces charges on it. The climatic condition may
be cool or hot. It produces charges when there is a change in
climatic conditions.GaN can also withstand high temperature.

REFERENCES
[1] Piezoelectricity: Evolution and Future of a Technology
Carol Zwick Rosen, Basavaraj V. Hiremath, Robert Everest
Newnham
[2]Wikipedia
[3] An introduction to the theory of piezoelectricity
By Jiashi Yang
[4] The Group 13 Metals Aluminium, Gallium, Indium and
Thallium: Chemical ...
By Simon Aldridge, Tony Downs, Anthony J. Downs

[5] Technology of Gallium Nitride Crystal Growth

Advantages:
1. High efficiency than other two methods.
2. High energy output.(05-1.5W)
3. GaN can withstand high and low temperature.So it
can be installed in countries having high and low
temperature.
4. The heat emitted by the vehicles also gives rise to
charges since GaN produces charges with change
in temperature.

By Dirk Ehrentraut, Elke Meissner, Michal Bockowski

The mechanical energy is derived from the

compression stress created during the vehicles' travel
on road. Only part of the energy from the fuel
combustion of the vehicle is used for moving the car
along the road or run useful accessories, such as air
conditioning. The rest of the energy is lost to engine
inefficiencies.
Cantile
ver

Resona
nce
frequen
cy [Hz]

Ris
e
tim
e
10
90
%,

Curre
nt
into
1 k
[A]

Power
density
[W/cm3
/g]

1
M
loa
d
[ms
]
5 x 33
mm2

318

250

63

74

9 x 33
mm2

291

179

88

96

11 x 33
mm2

328

178

128

130

5 x 25.4
mm2

605

100

164

196

7 x 25.4
mm2

488

122

100

80

9 x 25.4
mm2

555

83

200

192

11 x
25.4
mm2

569

70

287

308

The energy expended on the vehicle's movement is

mainly used to overcome rolling resistance, resistance
occurring when the wheel is moving forward on the road
surface. In addition to the energy used to move the
wheel forward (in the horizontal direction), part of the
fuel combustion is wasted on creating a deformation in
the asphalt, which is basically the product of the loaded
wheel's
influence
on
the
road
surface.
A typical asphalt road can be described as a viscoelastic-plastic material, with elasticity being its
dominant material characteristic. When a vehicle passes
over a road, the road deflects vertically. The deflection is
proportional to the weight of the vehicle and the asphalt
stiffness.
II. ENERGY HARVESTING TECHNIQUE

The only way to harvest energy is from this part of

mechanical energy related asphalt deformation, which is
a part of total energy of the vehicle.
It is known that the vertical load of the vehicle's wheels
yields compression stress, diminishing with depth. The
piezoelectric crystals that are embedded on the
generators are placed beneath the asphalt road layer at a
depth of 5cm; the area where the compression stress is
maximum
The external load results in the deformation in both the
asphalt layer covering the generators and the generators,
similar to the typical deformation in a piezoelectric
column loaded under axial load
.
The deformation of the generator and the shortening of
the piezoelectric columns embedded in the generators,
generate charges on the piezoelectric columns that are
the
source
for
the
electric
energy.
The energy needed to deform the road is a function of
various parameters such as: the surface quality of the

road, asphalt type, environment temperature and others.

Moreover, the stiffness of the piezoelectric generators is
function of the piezoelectric material; thus, the weighted
Young modulus of the generator is higher than that of
the asphalt. When piezoelectric generators are embedded
under the asphalt, the total vertical deflection of the road
is decreased due to the higher Youngs modulus of the
generator. It does not change the MPG of the vehicle.
The electrical energy thus generated can be stored and
used to supply power to street lights and traffic signals.
The above harvesting technique can produce 400KWh
from 1KM stretch of dual carriageway, which can power
nearly 500 homes.
Energy harvesters were subjected to a 5.8 m peak to
peak vibration with varying frequency and were
observed that the longer cantilevers exhibit lower
resonance frequency as compared to the shorter ones
due to their lower stiffness derived from decreased
area moment of inertia. However, it is notable that
the collected energy increases with the resonance
frequency of the cantilever which is due to increase
in vibration energy as the force acting on the
cantilever has a square relation with the vibration
frequency. Figure 3 Frequency responses of the
energy harvesters. Rise time for the energy harvester
was measured with a 1 M load (the input
impedance of the oscilloscope) and the vibration
source was set to vibrate at the resonance frequency
of the cantilever. The current output of the energy
harvester was measured at the resonance
108frequency with a 1 k load. Finally the power
density was calculated based on the resonance
frequency measurements and the dimensions of the
cantilever. The power density was scaled to 1 g of
acceleration. The summary of the measurements are
shown in Table 1.