Field‐Driven Activation of Solid‐State Devices in Open Circuits for Energy Harvesting and Wireless Sensing

ABSTRACT Time‐varying electric fields induce displacement currents through capacitive coupling, resulting in current continuity even in the absence of conduction paths. While capacitive coupling is known as a parasitic effect, its role in directly activating solid‐state devices in open circuits remains underexplored. Here, we demonstrate that externally generated, time‐varying electric fields—produced by triboelectric excitation or moving charged objects—can directly activate linear and nonlinear components, such as diodes, rectifiers, and LEDs, without a galvanic connection. A lumped‐element capacitive‐coupling model captures the observed dependencies V _ab ∝ω and V _ab ∝1/ r , validated experimentally on both linear and non‐linear components. The resulting field‐driven activation enables energy harvesting in open circuits, multi‐channel control, and wireless sensing of human motion and mechanical vibrations over meter‐scale distances. This quasi‐static capacitive coupling operates in a distinct regime compared to resonant wireless power transfer, because it is drive by low‐frequency, motion induced electric field changes that generate transient displacement currents in floating circuits. The findings here enable contact‐free activation of electronic components through discrete energy transfer rather than traditional continuous power delivery.