Electrically connected spin-torque oscillators array for 2.4 GHz WiFi band transmission and energy harvesting
- Journal:
- Nature Communications
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1038/s41467-021-23181-1
- Affiliations:
- 7
- Authors:
- 8
Research Highlight
WiFi-powered device demonstrated
© Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment/Getty Images
A spintronics device can harvest energy from ubiquitous WiFi signals and use it light up a light-emitting diode (LED).
WiFi seems to be everywhere these days, but when it’s not being used to connect to the internet, its energy is wasted.
Now, a team led by researchers at the National University of Singapore has created a device based on an array of tiny microwave oscillators known as spin-torque oscillators that can collect the energy from wireless radio frequencies such as WiFi signals.
The team demonstrated the potential of their device by using it to charge a capacitor for 5 seconds and then using the capacitor to power a 1.6-volt LED for a minute.
The secret to their success lay in synchronizing the outputs of the spin-torque oscillators by electrically connecting them in series.
The team is now looking into increase the number of spin-torque oscillators in the array.
References
- Nature Communications 12, 2924 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23181-1