By Courtney E. Howard
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland—The Smart NanoBattery from mPhase Technologies Inc., a microfluidics and nanotechnology development company in Little Falls, N.J., can supply primary or backup power for wireless sensors and other electronic devices.
Dr. Fred Allen, chief executive officer of AlwaysReady Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary mPhase, spoke on the topic at the 2008 NanoEurope Congress and Exhibition in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
His talk, titled “The Smart NanoBattery for Wireless Sensor Systems: A Breakthrough in Energy Storage and Power Management,” was presented as part of the Nano-based Electronics and Sensor Systems conference at the event.
The Smart NanoBattery has at its core a proprietary honeycomb membrane, made using standard silicon processing techniques employed in the semiconductor industry.
The technique employs lithography and etching, for example, to physically separate the electrolyte from the electrodes until the battery is activated or “turned on” when needed. Prior to being activated, the battery remains in a quiescent state with no self-discharge, power drain, or leakage to worry about, reveals a company representative.
Activation can occur via a remote-control switch or another triggering mechanism, such as a mechanical jolt, electrical pulse, or wireless radio-frequency signal. As a result, the nanobattery delivers Power On Command, or stored energy when and where it is needed.
This characteristic lends to a significantly longer shelf-life compared to a typical battery, which is valuable in situations in which reliable power is critical. Examples include remotely accessible wireless sensors, RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags in inventory waiting to be deployed, and emergency or medical equipment.
“The potential use of the Smart NanoBattery in wireless sensors is outgrowth of research based on mPhase’s breakthrough in manipulating microfluidics on a nanostructured surface,” says Ron Rurando, chief executive officer of mPhase Technologies Inc. “This is also the subject of a $750,000 Phase II STTR grant awarded to mPhase by the U.S. Army to produce a long-life battery for powering memory chips used in a computer application. This shows the relevance and versatility of this breakthrough technology.”
For additional information about the company and its Smart NanoBattery technology, visit mPhase Technologies Inc./AlwaysReady Inc. online at
www.mPhaseTech.com.
