Finnish researchers have developed a method for building highly efficient miniaturized micro-supercapacitor energy storage directly inside a silicon microcircuit chip, making it possible to power autonomous sensor networks, wearable electronics, and mobile internet-of-things (IoT) devices.
Supercapacitors function similar to standard batteries, but store electrostatic energy instead of chemical energy.
The micro-supercapacitor can store 0.2 joule (55 microwatts of power for one hour) on a one-square-centimeter silicon chip. This design also leaves the surface of the chip available for active integrated microcircuits and sensors.
Micro-supercapacitor
