Metal‐Gallium Arsenide Based Tribovoltaic Nanogenerators and its Application for High‐Precision Self‐Powered Displacement Sensors

Abstract Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) based on metal and semiconductors have attracted great interest due to their direct‐current (DC) output characteristics and better integration with an integrated circuit. In order to increase the DC output performance, a new type of metal‐gallium arsenide tribovoltaic nanogenerator (MG‐TVNG) is developed. The DC output characteristics of gallium arsenide‐based and silicon‐based devices are compared by a conductive atomic force microscope (CAFM), and the output of gallium arsenide‐based devices is dozens of times higher than that of silicon‐based devices, which verifies the influence of physical factors such as carrier mobility and surface state density on the tribovoltaic effect. The current density of 28.3 A m −2 can be obtained when using a single metal probe to slide on p‐type gallium arsenide, outperforming previously reported silicon TVNGs. The effects of operating parameters such as sliding velocity and load pressure on the output of the MG‐TVNG are further characterized. An MG‐TVNG‐based micro/nano grid displacement sensor is also successfully demonstrated and shows good potential in microscale displacement detecting.