Scientists Develop Smallest Ever Battery With Dust Grain Size That Powers Computer

Apr, 2022 - By SMI

The new battery is inspired by Swiss-roll and is the smallest battery in the world that could reportedly be used for powering small sensors in the human body

There are many studies being conducted that are focusing on reducing size of electronics and these electronics call for devices that can power them. Now engineers at Chemnitz University of Technology developed the smallest battery in the world that is inspired by Swiss-roll self-assembly method. According to the research published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials on February 09, 2022, the novel battery can be used to power small sensors in human bodies and in many other application.

To develop what is described as the world’s smallest battery, the scientists used the Swiss-roll process taken from the spongy cylindrical cakes that are made by rolling up with dense jam layers inside. The team layered strips of current receivers and electrodes made from polymeric, dielectric and metallic materials on a stretched wafer surface. When these layers are peeled off individually, the tension releases and all the materials roll up around one another and form the same structure as a Swiss roll cake creating a self-wound cylinder micro-battery. As reported by the team, the new battery has size tinier than dust grain and possesses 100 microwatt of least energy density hours per square centimeter.

With these properties of the battery, it can be used to integrate into small chips consisting electrical circuits, as per the team. This could also be applied in biocompatible sensors used in human body to track levels of oxygen in deep tissues as well as to monitor surgical recoveries. However, such technologies are using other methods to power these devices that could not always work in all situations. According to the team, these rechargeable micro-batteries that could power tiniest computer chips for 10 hours could be used in these situations.