Energy harvesting from ambient energy aims at realizing electromechanical miniaturized generators to supply electronic systems from energy of our local environment. Among the available sources (solar, thermal…), ambient vibrations show the requirements to supply autonomous microsystems like communication sensors nodes of sensors networks. The issue is to develop microgenerators doing the optimal conversion of the mechanical energy into usable electrical energy, and supplying the maximal power density. This works presents a criterium to compare piezoelectric systems and electromagnetic systems, based on a common normalized model. In a second part, a new nonlinear extraction circuit for electromagnetic generators is theoretically studied, and its practical advantages are highlighted in comparison with a classical extraction circuit. Based on these results, a new structure of electromagnetic generator is studied,optimized and experimentally validated.
