Category Technology/Electronics

Engineers harvest WiFi Signals to power Small-Electronics

The research breakthrough was achieved by a team led by Professor Yang Hyunsoo (left). Dr Raghav Sharma (right), the first author of the paper, is holding a chip embedded with about 50 spin-torque oscillators.

A research team has developed new technology that uses tiny smart devices known as spin-torque oscillators to harvest and convert wireless radio frequencies into energy to power small electronics.

With the rise of the digital age, the amount of WiFi sources to transmit information wirelessly between devices has grown exponentially. This results in the widespread use of the 2.4GHz radio frequency that WiFi uses, with excess signals available to be tapped for alternative uses.

To harness this under-utilised source of energy, a research team from the National University of Sin...

Read More

A LiDAR device the Size of a Finger now available

A LiDAR device the size of a finger now available
Credit: Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)

A nanophotonics-based LiDAR technology developed by a POSTECH research team was presented as an invited paper in Nature Nanotechnology, the leading academic journal in the field of nanoscience and nanoengineering.

In this paper, a POSTECH research team (led by Professor Junsuk Rho of the departments of mechanical engineering and chemical engineering, postdoctoral researcher Dr. Inki Kim of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Ph.D. candidate Jaehyuck Jang of the Department of Chemical Engineering) in cooperation with the French National Science Institute (CNRS-CRHEA) focused on the LiDAR device developed through studying the metamaterials based ultralight nanophotonics.

In addition, the paper introduces core nan...

Read More

A Long-lasting, Stable Solid-State Lithium Battery

The first electrolyte (green) is more stable with lithium but prone to dendrite penetration. The second electrolyte, (brown) is less stable with lithium but appears immune to dendrites. In this design, dendrites are allowed to grow through the graphite and first electrolyte but are stopped when they reach the second. (Image courtesy of Second Bay Studios/Harvard SEAS)
 

Researchers demonstrate a solution to a 40-year problem. A stable, lithium-metal solid state battery has been designed that can be charged and discharged at least 10000X — far more cycles than have been previously demonstrated — at a high current density. The battery technology could increase the lifetime of electric vehicles to that of the gasoline cars — 10 to 15 years — without the need to replace the battery...

Read More

Smaller Chips Open Door to New RFID Applications

diagram of computer chip with small RFID tag embedded in corner

Researchers at North Carolina State University have made what is believed to be the smallest state-of-the-art RFID chip which should drive down the cost of RFID tags. In addition, the chip’s design makes it possible to embed RFID tags into high value chips, such as computer chips, boosting supply chain security for high-end technologies.

“As far as we can tell, it’s the world’s smallest Gen2-compatible RFID chip,” says Paul Franzon, corresponding author of a paper on the work and Cirrus Logic Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State.

Gen2 RFID chips are state of the art and are already in widespread use. One of the things that sets these new RFID chips apart is their size. They measure 125 by 245 micrometers.

Manufacturers were able to make s...

Read More