Maxwell’s Displacement Current-Driven Wireless System for Self-Powered Multichannel Sensing and Communication

Abstract

Abstract Acquiring sensory data from physically isolated environments remains a fundamental challenge for the battery-free Internet of Things (IoT). Herein, we report a self-powered, multichannel wireless sensing and communication system driven by Maxwell’s displacement current for quantitative, through-barrier signal transduction. By integrating a microswitch into a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), ambient low-frequency mechanical energy is converted into transient electrical pulses with a high dV/dt. Theoretical derivations and circuit experiments form a rigorous closed loop, confirming that this high-frequency carrier effectively drives the spatial resistor–capacitor (RC) coupling network into a stable, purely resistive saturation plateau. Leveraging this phenomenon, an innovative multichannel self-reference topology fundamentally decouples intrinsic sensor impedance from highly variable transmission paths, realizing absolute quantitative mapping (R2 > 0.99). Validated through real-time, through-barrier, and zero-crosstalk parallel monitoring of pressure and illumination, this hardware-efficient passive paradigm paves a robust pathway for deployable IoT sensing nodes across smart homes, extreme industrial settings, and inaccessible structural environments.