Just when you thought devices couldn’t possibly get any smaller, researchers from the Chemnitz University of Technology (TUC), the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden, and the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC) just created a battery assembly that’s barely the size of a speck of dust; the remarkably tiny battery is envisioned to power future microsensors that can be used inside the human body to aid in diagnosis and treatment, as well as other possible uses.
The battery, which possesses a minimum energy density of around 100 µWh/cm2 (microwatt-hours per square centimeter), was made using a process that the authors describe as inspired by the Swiss roll, or a sponge cake roll layered with jam inside. Here, instead of cake layers, the researchers instead used current collectors and electrode strips onto a tensioned water surface, according to New Atlas. From there, the tension was released and the materials snapped back, taking the form of a rolled Swiss cake in the process.
“Our results show encouraging energy storage performance at the sub-square-millimeter scale”, said co-corresponding author Dr. Minshen Zhu Co-corresponding author Prof. Oliver Schmidt added in a TUC statement to AlphaGalileo: “There is still a huge optimization potential for this technology, and we can expect much stronger microbatteries in the future.”
The authors of the study, now published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials, say that their astoundingly small battery technology may soon be used in tiny chips with electrical circuits, which can then be co-opted into technologies like biosensors designed to enter the human body. From there, the tiny batteries can help power minuscule devices that can then track oxygen levels, check vital organs, and monitor body recovery, among others.
Said the research team to New Atlas, the novel battery can power the world’s smallest computer chips for around ten (10) hours—more than enough to venture inside the human body. Additionally, these batteries may instead be incorporated into flexible electronics and robotic systems.
References
- Chemnitz University of Technology. (2022, February 19). World’s Smallest Battery Can Power Computer with the Size of a Grain of Dust. AlphaGalileo. https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/218009?returnurl=https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/218009
- Lavars, N. (2022, February 21). World’s smallest battery assembles itself like a Swiss roll cake. New Atlas. https://newatlas.com/energy/worlds-smallest-battery-swiss-roll-cake/
- Li, Y., Zhu, M., Bandari, V. K., Karnaushenko, D. D., Karnaushenko, D., Zhu, F., & Schmidt, O. G. (2022). On‐chip batteries for dust‐sized computers. Advanced Energy Materials, 2103641. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202103641
