Wireless photonic power and data transfer to dormant devices

Need exists for untethered transmission of electrical power and data to remote devices and sensors. Several wireless solutions, based on radiation and non-radiation are in existence. Here the focus is on the use of photonic power which is an optimized optical to electrical conversion solution, used for both wireless and guided transportation. High photonic conversion efficiencies of 50% and greater have been demonstrated for wavelength matched laser diodes and photovoltaic cells. However, these existing solutions do not meet the needs of rapid energy transfer to remote devices, such as munition shells prior to launch. We report on the design and fabrication of a 16-cell array of densely packed photonic power converters that can power a munition shell immediately prior to launch. A laser beam delivers power and data to the PPC array. Thermal simulation, using FEA shows that the each of the cells can be operated at an equivalent irradiance of 1000x suns, giving an energy transfer rate of 17.5 J.s -1 for the array. Thus, two 10 F super-capacitors, typically used in munitions, can be charged is under 5 seconds. Further, using the measured capacitance of 2.4 nF for the array, data can be transported to the munition on the laser power beam, at a rate exceeding 5 Mbps.