Wireless energy transfer with anisotropic metamaterials
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system configured to exchange energy wirelessly, comprising:
- a source and a load exchanging the energy wirelessly via a coupling of evanescent waves along a particular direction, wherein the source and the load are electromagnetic (EM), non-radiative and resonant structures, wherein the coupling between the structures is strong and a strength of the coupling is represented by a coupling coefficient, and wherein dimensions of the structures are smaller than a wavelength of the evanescent waves;
a driver for supplying the energy to the source, wherein the source generates an EM near-field along the particular direction in response to receiving the energy, such that the EM near-field is an electric-dominant and the coupling is an electric-dominant coupling or the EM near-field is a magnetic-dominant and the coupling is a magnetic-dominant coupling; and
an anisotropic metamaterial arranged on the particular direction within the EM near-field of the source, wherein the anisotropic metamaterial is a single-negative (SNG) metamaterial having a type selected from a group consisting of an ∈
-negative (ENG) metamaterial and a μ
-negative (MNG) metamaterial, wherein the type is selected to correspond a dominant type of the coupling, such that the SNG metamaterial is the ENG metamaterial if the coupling is the electric-dominant coupling, or the SNG metamaterial is the MNG metamaterial if the coupling is the magnetic-dominant coupling, and wherein a metamaterial property of the SNG metamaterial is aligned with the particular direction such that the coupling coefficient is increased.
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Abstract
A system includes a structure configured to exchange the energy wirelessly via a coupling of evanescent waves and an anisotropic metamaterial arranged within an electromagnetic near-field such that an amplitude of the evanescent waves is increased. The structure is electromagnetic and non-radiative, wherein the structure generates the electromagnetic near-field in response to receiving the energy.
48 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system configured to exchange energy wirelessly, comprising:
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a source and a load exchanging the energy wirelessly via a coupling of evanescent waves along a particular direction, wherein the source and the load are electromagnetic (EM), non-radiative and resonant structures, wherein the coupling between the structures is strong and a strength of the coupling is represented by a coupling coefficient, and wherein dimensions of the structures are smaller than a wavelength of the evanescent waves; a driver for supplying the energy to the source, wherein the source generates an EM near-field along the particular direction in response to receiving the energy, such that the EM near-field is an electric-dominant and the coupling is an electric-dominant coupling or the EM near-field is a magnetic-dominant and the coupling is a magnetic-dominant coupling; and an anisotropic metamaterial arranged on the particular direction within the EM near-field of the source, wherein the anisotropic metamaterial is a single-negative (SNG) metamaterial having a type selected from a group consisting of an ∈
-negative (ENG) metamaterial and a μ
-negative (MNG) metamaterial, wherein the type is selected to correspond a dominant type of the coupling, such that the SNG metamaterial is the ENG metamaterial if the coupling is the electric-dominant coupling, or the SNG metamaterial is the MNG metamaterial if the coupling is the magnetic-dominant coupling, and wherein a metamaterial property of the SNG metamaterial is aligned with the particular direction such that the coupling coefficient is increased. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of transferring electromagnetic energy wirelessly via a coupling of evanescent waves, comprising steps of:
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transferring the energy wirelessly via a strong coupling of evanescent waves along a particular direction, wherein a strength of the coupling is represented by a coupling coefficient, and wherein the coupling is an electric-dominant coupling or a magnetic-dominant coupling; and increasing the strength of the coupling using an anisotropic metamaterial, wherein the anisotropic metamaterial is an ∈
-negative (ENG) metamaterial if the coupling is the electric-dominant coupling or a μ
-negative (MNG) metamaterial if the coupling is the magnetic-dominant coupling. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system configured to exchange electromagnetic energy wirelessly, comprising:
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a first resonator structure having a first mode with a resonant frequency ω
1, an intrinsic loss rate Γ
1 and a first Q-factor Q1=ω
1/(2Γ
1), wherein the first resonator structure is electromagnetic and designed so that Q1>
100;a second resonator structure positioned distal from the first resonator structure and not electrically wired to the first resonator structure, the second resonator structure has a second mode with a resonant frequency ω
2, an intrinsic loss rate Γ
2, a second Q-factor Q2=ω
2/(2Γ
2), wherein the second resonator structure is electromagnetic and designed to have Q2>
100; andan anisotropic metamaterial arranged between the first resonator structure and the second resonator structure, wherein the first resonator structure transfers the electromagnetic energy through the anisotropic metamaterial to the second resonator structure via a strong coupling of evanescent waves over a distance D, wherein the distance D is smaller than each of the resonant wavelength λ
1 and λ
2 corresponding to the resonant frequencies ω
1 and ω
2 respectively, wherein a dominant type of the coupling is an electric-dominant coupling or a magnetic-dominant coupling, wherein the anisotropic metamaterial is a single-negative (SNG) metamaterial having a type selected from a group consisting of an ∈
-negative (ENG) metamaterial and a μ
-negative (MNG) metamaterial, wherein the type corresponds to the dominant type of the coupling, such that the SNG metamaterial is the ENG metamaterial if the coupling is the electric-dominant coupling or the SNG metamaterial if the coupling is the magnetic-dominant coupling. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification