  We compute the expected cosmic rates of tidal disruption events induced by
individual massive black holes (MBHs) and by MBH binaries (MBHBs) - with a
specific focus on the latter class - to explore the potential of TDEs to probe
the cosmic population of sub-pc MBHBs. Rates are computed by combining MBH and
MBHB population models derived from large cosmological simulations with
estimates of the induced TDE rates for each class of objects. We construct
empirical TDE spectra that fit a large number of observations in the optical,
UV and X-ray and consider their observability by current and future survey
instruments. Consistent with results in the literature, and depending on the
detailed assumption of the model, we find that LSST and Gaia in optical and
eROSITA in X-ray will observe a total of 3000-6000, 80-180 and 600-900 TDEs per
year, respectively. Depending on the survey, one to several percent of these
are prompted by MBHBs. In particular both LSST and eROSITA are expected to see
150-450 MBHB induced TDEs in their respective mission lifetimes, including
5-100 repeated flares. The latter provide an observational sample of binary
candidates with relatively low contamination and have the potential of
unveiling the sub-pc population of MBHBs in the mass range
$10^5M_\odot<M<10^7M_\odot$, thus informing future low frequency gravitational
wave observatories.
