Self-folding microcube antennas for wireless power transfer in dispersive media

Abstract

One of the critical challenges in engineering is the wireless transfer of energy to power miniaturized electronic devices that have sizes smaller than the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. Here, we describe a strategy to self-fold three-dimensional (3D) low gigahertz responsive antennas with small form factors using capillary forces. The antennas are sub-millimeter (500 × 500 × 500 (m3) cubic devices with small form factors and hollow free space in their interior which could be used to embed other devices. We characterize and demonstrate the efficacy of these antennas in dispersive media. Remarkeably, we observe significantly higher power transfer with over an order of magnitude higher transfer efficiency as compared to similarly shaped planar antennas. Moreover, we show that the antennas can transfer on the order of 30 mW to power an LED, highlighting proof of concept for practical applications. Our findings suggest that self-folding polyhedral microantennas could provide a viable solution for powering tiny microdevices.