Active matching circuit to enhance the generated power of triboelectric nanogenerators

Abstract

Converting mechanical energies to electricity using triboelectrification is one of the emerging technologies. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have drawn much attention due to their high conversion efficiency. However, the internal capacitance of TENGs limits the currents generated and slows down the charging rate of storage elements. Such limitations restrict the amount of the generated power and the application of TENGs in areas that need high currents and power. This paper presents a solution to enhancing the output power of a TENG by devising an active on chip (IC) matching circuit. The matching circuit generates a negative capacitance to counter the effect of TENG’s internal capacitance and boosts the produced current. We implement the circuit using 130 nm CMOS technology and use a part of the generated power to provide the circuit with the needed biasing. The performance of the matching circuit is tested at different values of load capacitances. A relationship between the load and parasitic capacitances is estimated, which agrees with the simulation results. Numerical simulations show that the generated power can be greatly improved by using the matching circuit for four types of TENGs. The proposed matching circuit only consumes 6 . 4 μ W and improves the power of the TENG by 77.9% on average. • A matching architecture to improve the power generated from triboelectric nanogenerators using an active inductor circuit. • Implementing a negative impedance converter with low power consumption to generate a negative capacitance as a solution for creating an active inductor. • The matching circuit will be supplied by a small amount from the power generated from the TENG to achieve a fully integrated matching system that requires no external biasing source.