Rational design and optimization of self-powered instantaneous dual-parameter triboelectric sensor

Wireless sensing networks are essential for Internet of Things, smart city etc., however its development has been obstructed by the lack of suitable energy sources. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) based self-powered instantaneous wireless sensing systems are particularly attractive for real-time applications owing to its high energy output and conversion efficiencies. However, such sensing systems are not fully optimized and have low sensitivity and instability. In this work, through analytic derivation of frequency and attenuation coefficient, rational system design and optimization are carried out for the first time. By optimizing coil inductive sensor and stabilizing capacitor, the stability of the dual-parameter sensor is greatly improved, achieving ∼0.02% and ∼1% fluctuation for frequency and attenuation coefficient, respectively. Owing to the high stability, a high sensitivity self-powered instantaneous film thickness sensor is obtained, which is capable of self-powered micrometer film thickness measurement (< 9 µm). Besides, during dual-parameter sensing, the maximum error of decoupled distance and resistance can be improved from 7.6% to 4.83%, and 46.23% to 9.64% after optimization, respectively. A self-powered weight and distance instantaneous sensing system is also demonstrated which could be used in conveyer and robotic arm for production line management in the future, showing its feasibility and potential for future real-time monitoring applications.