An SSHI Rectifier for Triboelectric Energy Harvesting

In this article, a synchronized switching harvesting on inductor (SSHI)-based rectifier for triboelectric energy harvesting is reported for the first time. In the recent few years, triboelectric energy harvesters (TEs), also called triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), are emerging and extensively studied, which provide promising solutions for converting mechanical energy to electricity as power resources for electronics. To practically power electronics from TENGs, a power management module with high energy efficiency is also essential. The state of the art of power management circuits for triboelectric energy harvesting is mainly focused on increasing dc-dc power efficiency technically. In this article, we report an SSHI rectifying strategy associated with TEH design and provide a new perspective on designing TEHs or TENGs by considering their capacitance concurrently. A new theoretical model is developed for electricity generation from triboelectric energy harvesting considering the introduced pairing capacitance and the impact force under practical condition. We also demonstrate that ultralow-cost, easy-fabricated TEHs can also generate a reasonable amount of power. The experimental results show that the proposed SSHI rectifier increases the harvested power by 242.83% when compared with a full-wave bridge rectifier for a newly designed low-cost TEH. The proposed SSHI interface provides a promising strategy of rectifier design to enhance ac-dc energy efficiency for triboelectric energy harvesting.