With the development of the internet of things (IoT) and 5th generation communication technology, construction of smart cities is making a great progress. However, the IoT system needs millions of sensing nodes; therefore, it is rather challenging to power various sensors. Here, we design an electrostatic force-based switch (EFS) that can work as either an optical or an electrical switch. The EFS provides a method to directly detect or control high-voltage electrical systems with delay characteristics. Advantages of the EFS include self-contained delay characteristics, ease of fabrication, low cost, and high stability, especially when used in combination with the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to realize self-powered sensors. Based on the self-powered sensor, a mechanical motion-sensing system is built with high sensitivity and active response to the mechanical trigger. This study proposes a multifunctional self-powered switch, which realizes a high-voltage delay control system and can also combine with the TENG to expand the application of self-powered smart sensing systems.
Keywords: electrical switch; electrostatic force; optical switch; self-powered sensor; triboelectric nanogenerator.