Charging a Smartphone Over the Air: The Resonant Beam Charging Method

Wireless charging for mobile Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as smartphones is extremely difficult. To reduce energy dissipation during wireless transmission in mobile scenarios, laser or narrow radio beams with sophisticated tracking control are typically required. However, reaching the necessary tracking accuracy and reliability is really difficult. In this article, inspired by the features of optical resonators and retroreflectors, we develop an experiment on a self-aligned resonant beam charging system for long-distance mobile power transfer. It exploits light resonances inside a double-retroreflector-based spatially separated laser resonator (SSLR), which eliminates the requirement for any kind of tracking control. Focal telecentric cat’s eye retroreflectors are employed here. The SSLR was investigated by both theoretical calculation and experiment. We also well assembled the transmitter and the receiver and demonstrated its application in mobile smartphone charging. The results show that above 5-W optical power (also obtained more than 0.6-W electrical power) transferring with negligible diffraction loss to a few-centimeter-size receiver is realized while the receiver moves arbitrarily within 2-m vertical distance and 6° field of view from the transmitter. The maximum horizontal moving range is up to ±18 cm. This wireless charging system empowers a smartphone in mobile operation with unlimited battery life without the need for a cable.