New energy harvesting devices with storage capability
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Impact Objectives
• Design zero-power consuming electronic devices
• Develop fully integrated printed energy harvesting devices
• Investigate developing a device which would harvest enough wasted
radio frequency energy to power small devices
New energy harvesting
devices with storage capability
Dr Simon King talks about his academia-industry collaboration with Dr Bilal Malik, Dr Maxim Shkunov
and Dr Pavlos Giannakou which is seeking to design and develop zero-power electrical devices
At the University of Surrey we utilise a
number of methods and characterisation
techniques to design, fabricate and test
our devices. The process starts with the
computational design and simulation of
the energy harvesting antenna device, and
results in the engineering of a final design
Dr Simon King Dr Bilal Malik Dr Maxim Shkunov Dr Pavlos Giannakou
for fabrication and testing. This is followed
with device fabrication, which can be done
You are an expert in nanomaterials and The utilisation of a consortium of companies using in-house techniques such as inkjet
electronic device fabrication. Can you talk within a project brings numerous strengths printing and the more saleable screen
about how this led to your current project? and the SURFAS project is a prime example printing, where a variety of conducting inks
of this. Each member of the consortium and substrates (including flexible) can be
With over a decade in research experience, is responsible for focusing on a specific chosen. To ensure optimum printed device
reducing energy consumption has always aspect of the project, which allows for a performance, the University of Surrey
been a keen core principle of mine, around focused ‘divide and conquer’ approach to has recently purchased a state of-the-art
which a lot of my research revolves. Energy ensuring the project’s success. Furthermore, PulseForge ink curing system. Once printed,
harvesting is one of several approaches being able to work directly with industry the devices are carefully constructed using
currently being investigated to reduce our on relevant problems and learn from our low temperature solder to attach the
everyday demand and, as such, Dr Maxim industrial partners has actually allowed individual components such as rectifying
Shkunov invited me to join his research us to build new partnerships with other diodes.
group as part of the EU-funded SURFAS companies.
project. The prospects of developing a The final stage of this research is in RF
device which would harvest enough wasted Academia and industry are well known for testing, which is done within the in-house
RF (radio frequency) energy to power small approaching challenges differently, one n3m-labs (the Nonlinear Microwave
devices such as smoke detectors meant I often through a desire to gain the best Measurement and Modelling Laboratories)
was excited to be involved in the project. performances and one in a manner mindful – the first of its kind in the world – to enable
of commercial limitations. Being able to the complete characterisation of microwave
The SURFAS project involves a consortium work in a consortium which is evenly split and millimetre-wave devices, circuits,
of companies working together, including between both worlds has allowed the project subsystems and systems. Here our energy
the University of Surrey (UK), ESIGELEC to progress to its best while maintaining harvesting devices are tested using top of
(France), Projaction (France) and the commercial validity. the range Network Analyzers up to 67 GHz,
University of Kent (UK). What value does a signal generators up to 40 Ghz and power
collaborative effort bring to the research? Are you using any state-of-the-art tools in meters up to 18 GHz. l
this research?
06 www.impact.pub
Reducing Europe’s
energy consumption
through printed devices
The SURFAS project is an EU-funded initiative with an aim to design zero-power consuming electronic
devices and smart surfaces to extend the range of Wi-Fi in buildings. The overarching focus is on
developing fully integrated printed energy harvesting devices which will lead to countless Internet of Things
applications in the future
The majority of people in developed countries design energy harvesting surfaces (antennas) adding a rectifier circuit to the back of an
will be familiar with energy harvesting devices, for zero-power consuming electronic devices. antenna (thereby making it what the team
such as solar panels, which are a common The findings will lead to significant cost call a rectenna), which converts the current
feature on the roofs of houses across the UK, benefits and an enormous reduction in energy from AC to DC, enabling the antenna to
and wind generators, which can be found consumption. harvest wireless energy and power electrical
on a range of locations including highlands devices. ‘The two major requirements for
and out at sea. Put simply, energy harvesting THE SURFAS PROJECT efficient energy harvesting are the high-gain
is a means by which sources, such as heat, The flexible smart SURFaces for Augmented antenna and a rectifier circuit with high RF-
light, mechanical load and vibrations can be indoor communicationS (SURFAS) project DC conversion efficiency, especially at low
collected and converted to generate power. began in 2017 and is scheduled to finish in input power,’ explains Malik. ‘A rectenna is
2021. It is composed of a consortium featuring considered the most critical component for
While such processes have obvious four partners from France and the UK, and RF energy harvesting. The general layout of
economical and efficiency benefits, there aims to tackle the issue of powering devices a rectifier consists of a source impedance
is also the fact that energy harvesting wirelessly. The Group Leader is Dr Maxim matching network, a rectifying Schottky diode
can be used in places where there are no Shkunov and he works alongside Dr Simon and a low-pass filter with a load resistance.’
conventional power sources, enabling a range King, Dr Bilal Malik and Dr Pavlos Giannakou
of applications and devices to be powered to develop the technology required for fully One of the most crucial aspects of the
and used in remote locations, places that are integrated printed energy harvesting devices. rectifiers is the RF-DC conversion efficiency.
difficult to get to, and even underwater, where Each member of the team has his own So, in order to achieve the desired levels, the
connecting a plug to a socket is simply not specialty and is working on separate aspects of team probe the circuit parameters, such as DC
feasible. the project, but all are joined in an ambition to load resistance, smoothing and decoupling
revolutionise the ways in which devices access capacitors, using a source impedance
There are other potential applications too. and consume energy. matching network such as an Advanced
The recent development and rise of modern Design System.
autonomous electronics, Internet of Things Some of the team’s latest work is focused
(IoT) and wearable electronics has led to on the use of novel printing techniques to RECTIFIERS AND PRINTING CAPABILITIES
an urgent need for energy autonomy - and fabricate flexible radio frequency (RF) devices, The importance and broad applications for
employing energy harvesting methods is a such as rectifying antennas. Conventional these rectifiers can hardly be overstated. The
highly effective means of satisfying this need. antennas work by converting a wireless ultimate objective of SURFAS is to enable a
With that in mind, a highly collaborative and signal and electrical signal as an alternating zero-power consumer electronic devices and
interdisciplinary team has come together to current. The researchers have worked on smart surfaces that are capable of optimally
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Project Insights
FUNDING
This research was financially supported by
the European Regional Development Fund,
Interreg France (channel) England under
the project SURFAS
COLLABORATORS
University of Surrey (UK), ESIGELEC
(France), Projaction (France), University of
Kent (UK)
A working prototype energy harvesting rectenna, tuned to harvesting WiFi and cellular waste RF energy
CONTACT DETAILS
Dr Maxim Shkunov
re-directing Wi-Fi signals and delivering them for wearable technologies. In addition, T: +44 1483 686082
improved performance for the receivers, they design and fabricate working energy E: m.shkunov@surrey.ac.uk
such as sensitivity and range. For energy harvesting devices with integrated storage W: www.surfas-project.eu
scavengers, the rectifiers and printed antennas capability. ‘This technology has outstanding
BIO
are what enables this, as the devices are able future promise,’ explains Shkunov. ‘We can
Dr Simon King is a Research Fellow within
to harvest ambient electromagnetic waves think of millions of tiny devices that will never the ATI, working on nanomaterials and
(such as TV, Wi-Fi and cellular) to generate need battery replacement, and can ‘see’, large-area electronics. King specialises
a DC voltage capable of powering small ‘smell’, ‘feel ‘, ‘hear’ and also ‘talk’ wirelessly. in electronic device fabrication,
devices such as environmental gas and smoke They will be able to monitor patients’ vital electrospinning and nanomaterials.
detectors. signs in hospital wards, smart packaging
Dr Bilal Malik has previously worked at
COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan
This technology has the potential to ensure that homes are and the University of Leeds, UK. Malik
is currently a Research Fellow at the
safer and more secure, irrespective of their state of power University of Surrey’s ATI, UK.
Dr Pavlos Giannakou is completing
However, while the development and design will track the conditions of the goods and its his PhD under Dr Maxim Shkunov’s
of these devices is a significant achievement position, city councils will see in real-time supervision at the University of Surrey’s
ATI. After graduating in the top 1 per cent
in itself, one of the most novel aspects of the most popular traffic routes and how they
of his class as a Mechanical Engineer
the project is the creation and development change during the day, where most of the at the University, Giannakou continued
of a manufacturing process that can enable pollution is generated, or where gas and water to pursue a PhD in nanotechnology and
the rapid and cost-effective production of leaks are happening.’ nanoelectronics.
these devices. The University of Surrey, where
Shkunov, King, Malik and Giannakou are all BENEFITS FOR ALL Dr Maxim Shkunov is a Senior Lecturer
based, was responsible for using advanced By sometime in 2021, the team hope to have at the University of Surrey’s ATI, where
he specialises in ‘printed electronics with
modern printing techniques to facilitate fast a fully printed working energy harvesting
solution processable nanomaterials and
and cheap production. ‘Of course, the primary rectified antenna, integrated with a printed organic semiconductors’.
novelty in our work stems from the design energy storage device to provide uninterrupted
and engineering of the RF energy harvesting power to demonstrate environmental sensors.
antennas and the energy storage devices,’ If this proves successful and the technology
says King. ‘However, to facilitate the smooth is implemented, the entire population could
rapid transition to mass fabrication of our benefit, through limitless cheaper devices. ‘If
technology, we had to identify and adopt realised, it is estimated that the energy saved
existing fabrication technologies, such as through not having to charge IoT devices
inkjet and screen printing. This means that alone will reduce the energy consumption of
once our technology has been fully developed, Europe by 5.9 GWh each year, saving €14.9
existing manufacturers all over the world can million,’ comments King.
be utilised to maximise its speed to impact.’
Environmental sensors are just one way
Although the team used existing fabrication of proving the technology’s feasibility.
technologies in their research, extensive work Ultimately, the team believe their work
was required to ascertain the ideal ink and provides a compelling platform towards
substrate combinations and, in some cases, flexible and conformal, fully self-powered,
they even developed their own to ensure smart, communicating devices, with a strong
success. focus on scalable manufacturing and direct
integration with printed electronics to enable
SAVING ENERGY AND LIVES a variety of design flexibility needed for
The team has managed to print the electronic countless new IoT applications. l
devices onto fully flexible substrates, meaning
that there is significant potential for using
08 www.impact.pub
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