Scientists find new way to power electronics without batteries
An international team of researchers has identified a quantum phenomenon that could one day enable electronic devices to operate without traditional batteries by harvesting energy already present in the environment, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The study, led by scientists from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, focused on the nonlinear Hall effect, a quantum process that can convert alternating electrical signals directly into usable direct current.
Unlike conventional electronic components used for power conversion, the nonlinear Hall effect can generate direct current without requiring complex circuitry. Researchers say the discovery could eventually support the development of self-powered sensors, wearable electronics, and components for future wireless communication systems.
To investigate the phenomenon, the team studied a topological material known as bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃), which exhibits unusual electronic properties. Experiments showed that the nonlinear Hall effect remained stable up to room temperature, an important milestone for potential real-world applications.
The researchers found that the behavior of the effect changes with temperature. At low temperatures, tiny imperfections within the material, known as impurities, play the dominant role. As temperatures rise, vibrations of atoms inside the crystal structure become increasingly important. Around 230 Kelvin, the competition between these two mechanisms causes the electrical signal produced by the material to reverse direction.
According to the study, this previously unobserved mechanism provides a new way to control the nonlinear Hall effect and could help engineers design more efficient quantum devices. By understanding how different scattering processes influence the phenomenon, researchers may be able to tune materials for specific technological applications.
The findings also suggest that future devices could harvest small amounts of energy from ambient sources such as radio frequency signals and wireless transmissions, potentially reducing or eliminating the need for batteries in certain low-power electronics.
While practical products remain some distance away, the researchers say their work provides an important foundation for developing compact energy harvesters, advanced wireless technologies, and other next generation electronic systems.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that a new Microsoft quantum chip boosted qubit reliability by 1,000 times.
