NUS researchers develop new battery-free technology to power electronic devices using ambient radiofrequency signals
In a breakthrough for green energy, researchers demonstrated a novel technique to efficiently convert ambient radiofrequency signals into DC voltage that can power electronic devices and sensors, enabling battery-free operation.
Ubiquitous wireless technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 5G rely on radio frequency (RF) signals to send and receive data. A new prototype of an energy harvesting module – developed by a team led by scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) – can now convert ambient or ‘waste’ RF signals into direct current (DC) voltage. This can be used to power small electronic devices without the use of batteries.
RF energy harvesting technologies, such as this, is essential as they reduce battery dependency, extend device lifetimes, minimise environmental impact, and enhance the feasibility of wireless sensor networks and IoT devices in remote areas where frequent battery replacement is impractical.
However, RF energy harvesting technologies face challenges due to low ambient RF signal power (typically less than -20 dBm), where current rectifier technology either fails to operate or exhibits a low RF-to-DC conversion efficiency. While improving antenna efficiency and impedance matching can enhance performance, this also increases on-chip size, presenting obstacles to integration and miniaturisation
Read more : NUS
