We are proud to announce that collaborative work of the PULSE-COM team resulted in a European Patent submission. The patent EP21461595.7 entitled: “Photo-Piezoelectric Energy Generator of Electrical Energy from Light Energy” was filed in September 2021. The patent protects the topology of harvester (Figure 1), which uses PMP/PZL bilayer’s cyclic bending to convert light into electricity.
Fig. 1: Mode of operation of Photo-Piezoelectric energy generator of electrical energy from light energy.
Innovative topology enables sustained operation under continuous light illumination. It is allowed by tailoring of two regions, either continually illuminated or dark, inside the harvester’s package (see Figure 2). The PMP/PZL is periodically traversing the boundary between those regions. As long as the harvester is exposed to light, each bending/straightening action of photo-polymer produces electricity.
Fig. 2 Transitions between illuminated and dark regions in the harvester’s topology.
The topology protected in the patent offers attractive capabilities for light energy conversion. They represent novel alternatives for supplying micro-power devices, such as Internet of Things (IoT) nodes, with power.
Submission of the patent was achieved with collaborative efforts of CBRTP/CNR/ENEA/UGA team.