A new kind of solid-state battery for use in microbots has been developed by researchers at University of California San Diego and the French technology research institute CEA-Leti.
The design uses semiconductor processing technology and involves a thin stack of material. The solid-state battery is divided into smaller units and arranged in an integrated circuit, researchers said.
They claim this “2-in-1” design allows for the high-voltage outputs needed in microbots, without capacitors or inductors – traditionally bulky components.
The researchers made a proof-of-concept showing up to 56.1V voltage capability at up to a few Hz of the operating frequency needed by micro actuation systems.
The researchers said that the concept was validated with early commercial solid-state batteries and advanced versions developed at CEA-Leti.
Extrapolated data has suggested that the system can be scaled down to a weight of 14mg, without efficiency decreasing, the researchers claim.
This design is said to be ideal for micro flying robots and embedded medical devices.
Gaël Pillonnet, scientific director of CEA-Leti’s Silicon Component Division, and a lead author, said: “The design uniquely integrates energy storage and voltage conversion, setting a new standard in efficiency and autonomy for small electromechanical actuators. In addition, by leveraging a novel battery matrix, this is the first demonstration of such a system for ultra-low-power, high-voltage applications.”
Patrick Mercier, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC San Diego, said: “Microdrones and microrobotic systems already require a battery, and so it costs us next to nothing to use a solid-state battery, split it up into smaller pieces, and dynamically rearrange the small pieces to generate the voltages we need. This is the smallest and lightest way we could think of to generate the high voltages needed to run these sorts of systems.”
Image: Researchers at UC San Diego and CEA-Leti. Credit: David Baillot/Jacobs School of Engineering.
