The Need

Over five billion wireless devices are connected to wireless service providers worldwide, with a constant emergence of new and improved technologies. Fifth Generation (5G) wireless technologies are rapidly being deployed due to the demand for fast and more reliable services for mobile users and industrial applications.

The critical limitation of these wireless devices is battery life, often requiring additional battery packs or directly connecting to the power grid for charging. While new battery technologies have emerged, they only provide incremental improvements in overall battery life.

Electromagnetic waves (EM) are the primary means to connect wireless devices to global networks and the internet. However, most of the energy required to transmit data is lost within the ambient environment. Hence, capturing EM energy within the air is a potential method to improve efficiency while providing additional power to wireless devices.

The Technology

A team of researchers at The Ohio State University led by Dr. Xiaoguang "William" Wang has created a novel copper-coated nanowire that can convert EM energy into DC current for powering devices. The nanowire and EM waves coupling generates a surface current that can be captured and converted into DC energy. Additionally, the nanowire can be modulated to increase its density of energy-capturing defects to enhance the efficiency of the coating. The inventors have generated a prototype of the nanowire and showed within laboratory experiments the ability to capture and convert EM waves into DC current with an efficiency exceeding 78%.

Benefits

• High EM absorption
• Excellent thermoelectric effect
• Lightweight
• Stretchable
• Potential for efficient low temperature heat-to-electricity conversion
• Enhanced Seebeck coefficient
• Ultralow thermal conductivity
• High electric conductivity
• Increased electrical output efficiency of copper nanowire coating

Commercial Applications

• Wearable electronics
• Flexible electronics
• Wireless electronic technology