Wireless power transfer for consumer electronics has been hamstrung by modest efficiencies and transfer distances of just a couple of metres. But metamaterials — engineered materials with unique properties — can boost the transfer, say Bingnan Wang at the Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues.
The researchers positioned a metamaterial slab — a grid of square-shaped copper spirals — midway between transmitting and receiving antennae. The antennae form part of a power-transmission system designed to send 80 watts towards a 40-watt light bulb half a metre away (pictured). The metamaterial amplifies the electromagnetic waves, enhancing power transmission.
With the slab, the transfer efficiency was 47% and the bulb shone brightly. Without the slab, efficiency dropped to 17% and the bulb barely glowed.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
A jump on wireless power. Nature 474, 544 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/474544a
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/474544a
