To enhance the energy-generating capability of a piezoelectric cantilever generator with given dimensions

the analysis models were established to simulate the influence of the exciting method

structural parameters as well as material properties of the piezoelectric cantilevers on energy generation. The research results show that there are different optimal thickness ratio (OTR) for the piezoelectric monomorph cantilever generator (PMCG) and piezoelectric bimorph cantilever generator (PBCG) to obtain maximal electrical energy using the same dimension and excitation

and the maximal energy generated from the PBCG is about 2 times that from the PMCG. With the increasing of the Young’s modulus ratio (YMR)

the OTRs of the two generators all decrease. When aluminum and molybdenum plates are used for substrate

the PBCG and PMCG achieve the OTR of (0.7

0.32) and (0.45

0.2)

respectively. With the same thickness ratio (0.5) and external excitation

YMR exerts different influence on energy generation of the two generators

and the PBCG generates more electrical energy than the PMCG when YMR is under 3.3.