Designs for a Zero Power Plasmonic Microelectromechanical Device
ECE Professor Matteo Rinaldi and Research Assistant Professor Zhenyun Qian were awarded a patent for designing a “Zero power plasmonic microelectromechanical device.”
Abstract Source: USPTO
A zero-power plasmonic microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device is capable of specifically sensing electromagnetic radiation and performing signal processing operations. Such devices are highly sensitive relays that consume no more than 10 nW of power, utilizing the energy in detected electromagnetic radiation to detect and discriminate a target without the need of any additional power source. The devices can continuously monitor an environment and wake up an electronic circuit upon detection of a specific trigger signature of electromagnetic radiation, such as vehicular exhaust, gunfire, an explosion, a fire, a human or animal, and a variety of sources of radiation from the ultraviolet to visible light, to infrared, to terahertz radiation.
