A Bioresorbable Magnetically Coupled System for Low‐Frequency Wireless Power Transfer

Bioresorbable electronic technologies form the basis for classes of biomedical devices that undergo complete physical and chemical dissolution after a predefined operational period, thereby eliminating the costs and risks associated with secondary surgical extraction. A continuing area of opportunity is in the development of strategies for power supply for these systems, where previous studies demonstrate some utility for biodegradable batteries, radio frequency harvesters, solar cells, and others. This paper introduces a type of bioresorbable system for wireless power transfer, in which a rotating magnet serves as the transmitter and a bioresorbable antenna as the remote receiver, with capabilities for operation at low frequencies (<200 Hz). Systematic experimental and numerical studies demonstrate several unique advantages of this system, most significantly the elimination of impedance matching and electromagnetic radiation exposure presented with the types of radio frequency energy harvesters explored previously. These results add to the portfolio of power supply options in bioresorbable electronic implants.     

A LiF Nanoparticle‐Modified Graphene Electrode for High‐Power and High‐Energy Lithium Ion Batteries

Surface modification of carbon materials plays an important role in tailoring carbon surface chemistry to specify their electrochemical performance. Here, a surface modification strategy for graphene is proposed to produce LiF‐nanoparticle‐modified graphene as a high‐rate, large‐capacity pre‐lithiated electrode for high‐power and high‐energy lithium ion batteries. The LiF nanoparticles covering the active sites of the graphene surface provide an extra Li source and act as an effective solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) inhibiter to suppress LiFP₆ electrolyte decomposition reactions, affect SEI components, and reduce their thickness. Consequently, the Li‐ion diffusion is greatly sped up and the thermodynamic stability of the electrode is significantly improved. This modified graphene electrode shows excellent rate capability and improved first‐cycle coulombic efficiency, cycling stability, and ultrahigh power and energy densities accessible during fast charge/discharge processes.     

Study on Two‐Coil and Four‐Coil Wireless Power Transfer Systems Using Z‐Parameter Approach

A wireless power transfer (WPT) system is usually classified as being of either a two‐coil or four‐coil type. It is known that two‐coil WPT systems are suitable for short‐range transmissions, whereas four‐coil WPT systems are suitable for mid‐range transmissions. However, this paper reveals that the two aforementioned types of WPT system are alike in terms of their performance and characteristics, differing only when it comes to their matching‐network configurations. In this paper, we first find the optimum load and source conditions using Z‐parameters. Then, we estimate the maximum power transfer efficiency under the optimum load and source conditions, and we describe how to configure the matching networks pertaining to both types of WPT system for the given optimum load and source conditions. The two types of WPT system show the same performance with respect to the coupling coefficient and load impedance. Further, they also demonstrate an identical performance in the two cases considered in this paper, that is, a strong‐coupled case and a weak‐coupled case.     

Microporous Polypyrrole‐Coated Graphene Foam for High‐Performance Multifunctional Sensors and Flexible Supercapacitors

This study reports on the fabrication of pressure/temperature/strain sensors and all‐solid‐state flexible supercapacitors using only polydimethylsiloxane coated microporous polypyrrole/graphene foam composite (PDMS/PPy/GF) as a common material. A dual‐mode sensor is designed with PDMS/PPy/GF, which measures pressure and temperature with the changes of current and voltage, respectively, without interference to each other. The fabricated dual‐mode sensor shows high sensitivity, fast response/recovery, and high durability during 10 000 cycles of pressure loading. The pressure is estimated using the thermoelectric voltage induced by simultaneous increase in temperature caused by a finger touch on the sensor. Additionally, a resistor‐type strain sensor fabricated using the same PDMS/PPy/GF could detect the strain up to 50%. Flexible, high performance supercapacitor used as a power supply is fabricated with electrodes of PPy/GF for its high surface area and pseudocapacitance. Furthermore, an integrated system of such fabricated multifunctional sensors and a supercapacitor on a skin‐attachable flexible substrate using liquid–metal interconnections operates well, whereas sensors are driven by the power of the supercapacitor. This study clearly demonstrates that the appropriate choice of a single functional material enables fabrication of active multifunctional sensors for pressure, temperature, and strain, as well as the supercapacitor, that could be used in wirelessly powered wearable devices.     

Multifunctional Electrode Design Consisting of 3D Porous Separator Modulated with Patterned Anode for High‐Performance Dual‐Ion Batteries

Searching for low‐cost and high‐capacity electrode materials such as metal anodes is of important significance for the development of new generation rechargeable batteries. However, metal anodes always suffer from severe volume expansion/contraction during a repeated electrochemical alloying/dealloying process. In this study, a novel concept about modifying metal‐anodes‐based battery construction with a multifunctional electrode (ME) design is provided. The ME consists of a 3D porous separator that is modulated with a patterned aluminum anode, which simultaneously works as a current collector, anode material, and separator in a dual‐ion battery (DIB). The 3D porous separator not only enables the ME to possess significantly improved electrolyte uptake and retention capabilities, but also acts as a protecting layer to restrict the surface pulverization of the Al anode. The ME‐DIB displays remarkably enhanced cell performances, including excellent cycling stability with 92.4% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at a current density of 2 C, and superior rate performance with 80.7% capacity retention at 10 C.     

Hard–Soft Composite Carbon as a Long‐Cycling and High‐Rate Anode for Potassium‐Ion Batteries

There exist tremendous needs for sustainable storage solutions for intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy. Thus, systems based on Earth‐abundant elements deserve much attention. Potassium‐ion batteries represent a promising candidate because of the abundance of potassium resources. As for the choices of anodes, graphite exhibits encouraging potassium‐ion storage properties; however, it suffers limited rate capability and poor cycling stability. Here, nongraphitic carbons as K‐ion anodes with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose as the binder are systematically investigated. Compared to hard carbon and soft carbon, a hard–soft composite carbon with 20 wt% soft carbon distributed in the matrix phase of hard carbon microspheres exhibits highly amenable performance: high capacity, high rate capability, and very stable long‐term cycling. In contrast, pure hard carbon suffers limited rate capability, while the capacity of pure soft carbon fades more rapidly.     

High‐Power Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by High‐Concentration Acetonitrile‐Based Electrolytes with Vinylene Carbonate Additive

To enable next‐generation high‐power, high‐energy‐density lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs), an electrolyte possessing both high Li Coulombic efficiency (CE) at a high rate and good anodic stability on cathodes is critical. Acetonitrile (AN) is a well‐known organic solvent for high anodic stability and high ionic conductivity, yet its application in LMBs is limited due to its poor compatibility with Li metal anodes even at high salt concentration conditions. Here, a highly concentrated AN‐based electrolyte is developed with a vinylene carbonate (VC) additive to suppress Li⁺ depletion at high current densities. Addition of VC to the AN‐based electrolyte leads to the formation of a polycarbonate‐based solid electrolyte interphase, which minimizes Li corrosion and leads to a very high Li CE of up to 99.2% at a current density of 0.2 mA cm^‐2. Using such an electrolyte, fast charging of Li||NMC333 cells is realized at a high current density of 3.6 mA cm^‐2, and stable cycling of Li||NMC622 cells with a high cathode loading of 4 mAh cm^‐2 is also demonstrated.     

High‐Performance Low‐Power FFT Cores

Recently, the power consumption of integrated circuits has been attracting increasing attention. Many techniques have been studied to improve the power efficiency of digital signal processing units such as fast Fourier transform (FFT) processors, which are popularly employed in both traditional research fields, such as satellite communications, and thriving consumer electronics, such as wireless communications. This paper presents solutions based on parallel architectures for high throughput and power efficient FFT cores. Different combinations of hybrid low‐power techniques are exploited to reduce power consumption, such as multiplierless units which replace the complex multipliers in FFTs, low‐power commutators based on an advanced interconnection, and parallel‐pipelined architectures. A number of FFT cores are implemented and evaluated for their power/area performance. The results show that up to 38% and 55% power savings can be achieved by the proposed pipelined FFTs and parallel‐pipelined FFTs respectively, compared to the conventional pipelined FFT processor architectures.     

A Flexible 3D Multifunctional MgO‐Decorated Carbon Foam@CNTs Hybrid as Self‐Supported Cathode for High‐Performance Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

One of the critical challenges to develop advanced lithium‐sulfur (Li‐S) batteries lies in exploring a high efficient stable sulfur cathode with robust conductive framework and high sulfur loading. Herein, a 3D flexible multifunctional hybrid is rationally constructed consisting of nitrogen‐doped carbon foam@CNTs decorated with ultrafine MgO nanoparticles for the use as advanced current collector. The dense carbon nanotubes uniformly wrapped on the carbon foam skeletons enhance the flexibility and build an interconnected conductive network for rapid ionic/electronic transport. In particular, a synergistic action of MgO nanoparticles and in situ N‐doping significantly suppresses the shuttling effect via enhanced chemisorption of lithium polysulfides. Owing to these merits, the as‐built electrode with an ultrahigh sulfur loading of 14.4 mg cm^?2 manifests a high initial areal capacity of 10.4 mAh cm^?2, still retains 8.8 mAh cm^?2 (612 mAh g^?1 in gravimetric capacity) over 50 cycles. The best cycling performance is achieved upon 800 cycles with an extremely low decay rate of 0.06% at 2 C. Furthermore, a flexible soft‐packaged Li‐S battery is readily assembled, which highlights stable electrochemical characteristics under bending and even folding. This cathode structural design may open up a potential avenue for practical application of high‐sulfur‐loading Li‐S batteries toward flexible energy‐storage devices.     

High‐Energy Asymmetric Supercapacitor Yarns for Self‐Charging Power Textiles

Rapid growth of electronic textile increases the demand for textile‐based power sources, which should have comparable lightweight, flexibility, and comfort. In this work, a self‐charging power textile interwoven by all‐yarn‐based energy‐harvesting triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) and energy‐storing yarn‐type asymmetric supercapacitors (Y‐ASC) is reported. Common polyester yarns with conformal Ni/Cu coating are utilized as 1D current collectors in Y‐ASCs and electrodes in TENGs. The solid‐state Y‐ASC achieves high areal energy density (≈78.1 µWh cm^?2), high power density (14 mW cm^?2), stable cycling performance (82.7% for 5000 cycles), and excellent flexibility (1000 cycles bending for 180°). The TENG yarn can be woven into common fabrics with desired stylish designs to harvest energy from human daily motions at high output (≈60 V open‐circuit voltage and ≈3 µA short‐circuit current). The integrated self‐charging power textile is demonstrated to power an electronic watch without extra recharging by other power sources, suggesting its promising applications in electronic textiles and wearable electronics.     

Method for Adjusting Single Matching Network for High‐Power Transfer Efficiency of Wireless Power Transfer System

A wireless power transfer (WPT) system is generally designed with the optimum source and load impedance in order to achieve the maximum power transfer efficiency (PTE) at a specific coupling coefficient. Empirically or intuitively, however, it is well known that a high PTE can be attained by adjusting either the source or load impedance. In this paper, we estimate the maximum achievable PTE of WPT systems with the given load impedance, and propose the condition of source impedance for the maximum PTE. This condition can be reciprocally applied to the load impedance of a WPT system with the given source impedance. First, we review the transducer power gain of a two‐port network as the PTE of the WPT system. Next, we derive two candidate conditions, the critical coupling and the optimum conditions, from the transducer power gain. Finally, we compare the two conditions carefully, and the results therefore indicate that the optimum condition is more suitable for a highly efficient WPT system with a given load impedance.     

Fully‐Inkjet‐Printed Ag‐Coil/NiZn‐Ferrite for Flexible Wireless Power Transfer Module: Rigid Sintered Ceramic Body into Flexible Form

Despite the material performances being superior to those of organic materials, inorganic materials are typically excluded for use in flexible and deformable electronic systems because of their rigid nature and the requirement for high processing temperature. This work presents a novel method of utilizing rigid NiZn‐ferrite films in a flexible platform and offers an opportunity to realize a flexible wireless power transfer (WPT) module. Inkjet printing is introduced in this study since it can coat NiZn‐ferrite films as well as pattern inductor coils for WPTs. A thermochemically inert buffer layer is selected based on a thermodynamic analysis and is introduced as a buffer layer for the NiZn‐ferrite to prevent chemical reaction between the ferrite film and the substrate and ensure that the ferrite film can be easily separated from the substrate during a high‐temperature sintering process. A Ag‐inductor coil is printed on the NiZn‐ferrite layer, and then the entire layer is embedded into polydimethylsiloxane, which renders the WPT module flexible. The flexibility of the WPT module is characterized by a bending test, and the structural and magnetic properties are also investigated. The performance of the flexible WPT module is demonstrated by transmitting wireless power to a light emitting diode.     

Electroless‐Plated Gold Contacts for High‐Performance,Low Contact Resistance Organic Thin Film Transistors

Deposition of metallic electrodes on a semiconductor medium is an indispensable factor in governing carrier injection, and a metal/semiconductor contact that can be formed via solution process is highly desired in printed electronics. However, fine‐patterning the solution processes of metallic electrodes without damaging the excellent electronic properties of organic semiconductors (OSCs) is still a challenge. In this work, electroless plating, a metal coating technique that involves auto‐catalytic reaction in an aqueous solution, is used to fabricate top‐contact organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs). An electroless‐plated gold pattern with a spatial resolution of 10 micrometers is transferred and laminated on a monolayer of OSCs to serve as a hole‐injection electrode. The fabricated OTFTs exhibit reasonably high field‐effect mobility of up to 13 cm² V^?1 s^?1 and decent contact resistance as low as 120 Ω · cm, which implies that an ideal metal/semiconductor contact can be realized. This electroless plating technique can provide possibilities for practical mass production of organic integrated circuits because it is in principle cost‐effective, capable of covering large areas, high‐vacuum free, and environmentally friendly.     

A High‐Power Symmetric Na‐Ion Pseudocapacitor

Batteries and supercapacitors are critical devices for electrical energy storage with wide applications from portable electronics to transportation and grid. However, rechargeable batteries are typically limited in power density, while supercapacitors suffer low energy density. Here, a novel symmetric Na‐ion pseudocapacitor with a power density exceeding 5.4 kW kg^?1 at 11.7 A g^?1, a cycling life retention of 64.5% after 10 000 cycles at 1.17 A g^?1, and an energy density of 26 Wh kg^?1 at 0.585 A g^?1 is reported. Such a device operates on redox reactions occurring on both electrodes with an identical active material, viz., Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ encapsulated inside nanoporous carbon. This device, in a full‐cell scale utilizing highly reversible and high‐rate Na‐ion intercalational pseudocapacitance, can bridge the performance gap between batteries and supercapacitors. The characteristics of the device and the potentially low‐cost production make it attractive for hybrid electric vehicles and low‐maintenance energy storage systems.     

High‐rate uncoded space‐time labelling diversity with low‐complexity detection

Uncoded space‐time labelling diversity (USTLD) is a recent scheme that improved the error performance compared to conventional multiple‐input, multiple‐output systems. Thus far, USTLD has suffered from limited achievable data rates, as the original model uses only two transmit antennas. This motivates for the work in this paper, where the USTLD model is extended to allow for any desired number of transmit antennas. An analytical bound for the average bit error probability of this high‐rate USTLD (HR‐USTLD) system is derived. This expression is verified using the results of Monte Carlo simulations, which show a tight fit in the high signal‐to‐noise ratio region. The increased data rates associated with larger transmit antenna arrays in HR‐USTLD systems come at the cost of increased detection complexity. Therefore, this paper studies the application of low‐complexity detection algorithms based on the popular QR decomposition technique and proposes a new algorithm specifically designed for HR‐USTLD systems. Analysis of this algorithm in terms of accuracy and computational complexity is also provided and benchmarked against maximum‐likelihood detection (MLD). It is shown that the proposed algorithm achieves near‐MLD accuracy, while reducing complexity by 79.75% and 92.53% for the respective 4 × 4 16QAM and 4 × 5 16PSK HR‐USTLD systems investigated.     

CaO‐Templated Growth of Hierarchical Porous Graphene for High‐Power Lithium–Sulfur Battery Applications

Structural hierarchy plays an important role in the biological world and for functional materials with optimized properties and high efficiency. As promising candidates for various energy storage systems, hierarchical porous carbon/graphene materials have been intensively investigated over the past decades, while the favorable regulation of their hierarchical porosity remains a challenge. Herein, porous CaO serves as both the catalyst and template for a versatile chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of hierarchical porous graphene. The gas atmosphere during CVD and nanostructure of adopted catalysts impact significantly on the graphitization degree and hierarchical porosity of resultant materials. The as‐fabricated material exhibits abundant microsized in‐plane vacancies, mesosized wrinkled pores, and macrosized strutted cavities, thereby contributing to a strong surface entrapment, short ion diffusion pathways, rapid mass transport, low interfacial resistance, and robust framework. It is demonstrated as a favorable scaffold for lithium–sulfur battery cathodes with superior rate capability, high coulombic efficiency, and excellent stability. A high capacity of 357 (656 ) is manifested at the current rate of 5.0 C, exhibiting a 74% retention of the capacity at 0.1 C. The first use of CaO‐templated CVD growth of graphene reported herein opens up new perspectives on the effective fabrication of hierarchical porous graphene materials on metal oxide catalysts with promising applications in energy storage, catalysis, adsorption, drug delivery, and so on.     

Reversible and High‐Capacity Nanostructured Electrode Materials for Li‐Ion Batteries

Reversible nanostructured electrode materials are at the center of research relating to rechargeable lithium batteries, which require high power, high capacity, and high safety. The higher capacities and higher rate capabilities for the nanostructured electrode materials than for the bulk counterparts can be attributed to the higher surface area, which reduces the overpotential and allows faster reaction kinetics at the electrode surface. These electrochemical enhancements can lead to versatile potential applications of the batteries and can provide breakthroughs for the currently limited power suppliers of mobile electronics. This Feature Article describes recent research advances on nanostructured cathode and anode materials, such as metals, metal oxides, metal phosphides and LiCoO₂, LiNi_1–xM_xO₂ with zero‐, one‐, two‐, and three‐dimensional morphologies.     

Single‐Crystalline LiMn2O4 Nanotubes Synthesized Via Template‐Engaged Reaction as Cathodes for High‐Power Lithium Ion Batteries

Single‐crystalline nanotubes of spinel LiMn₂O₄ with a diameter of about 600 nm, a wall thickness of about 200 nm and a length of 1–4 μm have been synthesized via a template‐engaged reaction using β‐MnO₂ nanotubes as a self‐sacrifice template. In this fabrication, a minimal structural reorganization can be responsible for the chemical transformation from [001]‐oriented β‐MnO₂ template to [110]‐oriented LiMn₂O₄. Galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements indicate that the nanotubes exhibit superior high‐rate capabilities and good cycling stability. About 70% of its initial capacity can be retained after 1500 cycles at 5 C rate. Importantly, the tubular nanostructures and the single‐crystalline nature of the most LiMn₂O₄ nanotubes are also well preserved after prolonged charge/discharge cycling at a relatively high current density, indicating good structural stability of the single‐crystalline nanotubes during lithium intercalation/deintercalation process. As is confirmed from Raman spectra analyses, no evident microstructural changes occur upon long‐term cycling. These results reveal that single‐crystalline nanotubes of LiMn₂O₄ will be one of the most promising cathode materials for high‐power lithium ion batteries.     

A Multifunctional Bipolar Luminogen with Delayed Fluorescence for High‐Performance Monochromatic and Color‐Stable Warm‐White OLEDs

Increasing exciton utilization and reducing exciton annihilation are crucial to achieve high performance of organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs), which greatly depend on molecular engineering of emitters and hosts. A novel luminogen (SBF‐BP‐DMAC) is synthesized and characterized. Its crystal and electronic structures, thermal stability, electrochemical behavior, carrier transport, photoluminescence, and electroluminescence are investigated. SBF‐BP‐DMAC exhibits enhanced photoluminescence and promotes delayed fluorescence in solid state and bipolar carrier transport ability, and thus holds multifunctionality of emitter and host for OLEDs. Using SBF‐BP‐DMAC as an emitter, the nondoped OLEDs exhibit maximum electroluminescence (EL) efficiencies of 67.2 cd A^?1, 65.9 lm W^?1, and 20.1%, and the doped OLEDs provide maximum EL efficiencies of 79.1 cd A^?1, 70.7 lm W^?1, and 24.5%. A representative orange phosphor, Ir(tptpy)₂acac, is doped into SBF‐BP‐DMAC for OLED fabrication, giving rise to superior EL efficiencies of 88.0 cd A^?1, 108.0 lm W^?1, and 26.8% for orange phosphorescent OLEDs, and forward‐viewing EL efficiencies of 69.3 cd A^?1, 45.8 lm W^?1, and 21.0% for two‐color hybrid warm‐white OLEDs. All of these OLEDs can retain high EL efficiencies at high luminance, with very small efficiency roll‐offs. The outstanding EL performance demonstrates the great potentials of SBF‐BP‐DMAC in practical display and lighting devices.