Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have designed the first fully flexible, battery-free ’rectenna’ - a device that converts energy from Wi-Fi signals into electricity - that could be used to power flexible and wearable electronics, medical devices, and sensors for the ’internet of things.’ Image: Christine Daniloff
Device made from flexible, inexpensive materials could power large-area electronics, wearables, medical devices, and more. Imagine a world where smartphones, laptops, wearables, and other electronics are powered without batteries. Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have taken a step in that direction, with the first fully flexible device that can convert energy from Wi-Fi signals into electricity that could power electronics. Devices that convert AC electromagnetic waves into DC electricity are known as "rectennas." The researchers demonstrate a new kind of rectenna that uses a flexible radio-frequency (RF) antenna that captures electromagnetic waves - including those carrying Wi-Fi - as AC waveforms. The antenna is then connected to a novel device made out of a two-dimensional semiconductor just a few atoms thick. The AC signal travels into the semiconductor, which converts it into a DC voltage that could be used to power electronic circuits or recharge batteries. In this way, the battery-free device passively captures and transforms ubiquitous Wi-Fi signals into useful DC power.
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