Triboelectric energy harvester with an ultra-thin tribo-dielectric layer by initiated CVD and investigation of underlying physics in the triboelectricity

Abstract

A thickness effect of a tribo-dielectric layer (TDL) made of ultra-thin polymer in a triboelectric energy harvester (TEH) is experimentally and comprehensively studied. The TDL was deposited by the initiated chemical vapor deposition (i-CVD) method and its thickness was precisely controlled to analyze the thickness effect. The correlation between the thickness of the TDL and the output performance is experimentally determined and analytically understood with the aid of the dynamic contact-separation model. In contrast to the conventional static contact-separation model, in this case the output performance increases as the thickness of the TDL increases owing to the dynamic behavior of the electron, which includes drift and recombination phenomenon in the TDL.