Scientists Just Made Wireless Charging Using Lasers A Reality
Researchers recently transmitted power over 98 feet of thin air. Phones and smart devices of the future may be charged wirelessly using this technology, if all goes well.
Infrared laser light was used to transmit 400mW of light power of a distance of up to 30 metres (98 feet). Scientists say that this is enough power to charge small sensors, but that over time the tech may be scaled up to charge larger devices like smartphones.
Its creators claim that the process is completely safe and that the laser switches to a low power mode when not being used. In technical terms, this is called distributed laser charging.
"While most other approaches require the receiving device to be in a special charging cradle or to be stationary, distributed laser charging enables self-alignment without tracking processes as long as the transmitter and receiver are in the line of sight of each other," electrical engineer Jinyong Ha, from Sejong University in South Korea was quoted by Science Alert.
Charging in thin air
What does this mean? As long as the transmitter and receiver are in sight of each other, lasers would wirelessly charge the device, or so it seems. In the experiment, an amplifier treated with a white metal called erbium was set up 30 metres from the receiver. It was also equipped with a photovoltaic cell to convert light signals into electrical power.
Also read:?Fast Charging Expert Oppo Says Future Smartphones Could Charge Fully In A Second
The receiver is very small (10 millimetres by 10 millimetres), making it suitable to charge tiny gadgets like sensors. To scale the tech up, scientists would have to upgrade the photovoltaic cell in the receiver so that more laser light can be converted into electricity. They could also tweak the set up to work with more receivers at once.
The laser has a central wavelength of 1550 nanometres, meaning it cannot cause harm to human eyes or skin. While the research is still new, it might help change the way we perceive charging solutions.
Also read:?Meerut Engineers Develop Wireless Charging System For Electric Cars
What do you think about laser chargers? Let us know in the comments below.?For?more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.?
References
Researchers use infrared light to wirelessly transmit power over 30 meters | News Releases | Optica. (2022, August 30). Optica.?
Nield, D. (2022, September 2). Researchers Just Wirelessly Transmitted Power Over 98 Feet of Thin Air : ScienceAlert.?
