Suppressing the Air-Breakdown Phenomenon of Electrostatic Generator for Efficient Energy Harvesting

The air breakdown phenomenon is the critical factor that limits electrostatic generators’ charge density and output performance. To solve this problem, a universal strategy with dual synchronous switches and an external capacitor is proposed in this work, which can effectively suppress air breakdown and improve the generator’s output performance without changing the external environment. Based on the strategy, a 1.8×1.8 cm
²
contact-separation mode electrostatic generator achieves a power density of 110 mW/m
²
/Hz with a small separation distance of 100 μm, which is 2.68 times that of a conventional one. This work provides a novel and simple way to suppress the air breakdown phenomenon and improve the output performance of electrostatic generators.