Transparent device harvests radio frequency and solar power to improve power outputs

Wireless communications technology has transformed the world, but the devices, which are quickly growing in number, require a consistent and ample source of power. Dong et al. developed a transparent device that harvests energy from two sources — radio waves and the sun — to power a wide range of wireless devices.

The breakthrough represents a significant step forward in optimizing energy conversion, since previous systems typically focused on harvesting either radio frequency or solar power, but not both. For example, coupling the energy harvester device with a solar cell increases the solar cell’s maximum power output by 13.11%. Furthermore, the device demonstrates an optical transparency of over 80 percent, allowing it to be invisibly integrated into many next-generation wireless technologies as both an energy harvester and a light transmitter.

“Our transparent rectifying metasurface system offers distinct advantages over conventional energy harvesting antennas and metasurfaces, including wide-angle coverage, a low-profile design, polarization insensitivity, and high optical transparency,” author Liming Si said. “The energy harvester is based on indium tin oxide — a material that cannot be seen in visible light.”

To optimize the device’s energy collection, the team used a voltage-doubling rectifier circuit consisting of dual-band matching network, rectifier, low-pass filter, and load. The circuit captured energies within the Wi-Fi bands of 2.4 and 5.8 GHz, which were chosen to match modern wireless communication environments.

Future research includes integrating additional sustainable power sources such as heat and vibrations, along with exploring ways to reduce the cost of the device for large-scale use in both commercial and industrial applications.

Source: “An optically transparent rectifying metasurface for 2.4/5.8 GHz dual-band RF energy harvesting,” by Lin Dong, Liming Si, Boyang Liu, Qitao Shen, Rong Niu, Xiue Bao, Houjun Sun, and Weiren Zhu, Applied Physics Letters (2025). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0242451 .