Wirelessly powered large-area electronics for the Internet of Things

• Published in: Nature electronics Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 10 - 17
• Main Authors: Portilla, Luis, Loganathan, Kalaivanan, Faber, Hendrik, Eid, Aline, Hester, Jimmy G. D, Tentzeris, Manos M, Fattori, Marco, Cantatore, Eugenio, Jiang, Chen, Nathan, Arokia, Fiori, Gianluca, Ibn-Mohammed, Taofeeq, Anthopoulos, Thomas D, Pecunia, Vincenzo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 01.01.2023
• Subjects: Amorphous semiconductors; Amplification; Carbon nanotubes; Data communication; Electronics; Energy consumption; Energy harvesting; Internet of Things; Low dimensional semiconductors; Metal oxide semiconductors; Microstrip antennas; Nodes; Organic semiconductors; Power management; Power semiconductor devices; Radio frequency; Semiconductors; Signal processing; Sustainability; Transistor circuits
• ISSN: 2520-1131
• DOI: 10.1038/s41928-022-00898-5

Powering the increasing number of sensor nodes used in the Internet of Things creates a technological challenge. The economic and sustainability issues of battery-powered devices mean that wirelessly powered operation—combined with environmentally friendly circuit technologies—will be needed. Large-area electronics—which can be based on organic semiconductors, amorphous metal oxide semiconductors, semiconducting carbon nanotubes and two-dimensional semiconductors—could provide a solution. Here we examine the potential of large-area electronics technology in the development of sustainable, wirelessly powered Internet of Things sensor nodes. We provide a system-level analysis of wirelessly powered sensor nodes, identifying the constraints faced by such devices and highlighting promising architectures and design approaches. We then explore the use of large-area electronics technology in wirelessly powered Internet of Things sensor nodes, with a focus on low-power transistor circuits for digital processing and signal amplification, as well as high-speed diodes and printed antennas for data communication and radiofrequency energy harvesting.This Perspective explores the potential of large-area electronics in wirelessly powered sensor nodes for the Internet of Things, considering low-power circuits for digital processing and signal amplification, as well as diodes and printed antennas for data communication and radiofrequency energy harvesting.