Nano-Supercapacitors

The ability to supply power to Nano-ElectroMechanical Systems, NEMS, sensors and actuators has been neglected. Conventional macroscopic power supplies physically dwarf NEMS devices and create interconnection and packaging problems. For example, fuel cellsand nuclear devices on a micro-scale are not practical because of the complicated plumbing that adds complexity, incompatibility with bio-NEMS and the expense.Nano-Electrochemical Power Supplies, NEPS solve this need with a minimized footprint, no moving parts, inexpensive fabrication, and biocompatibility. These devices will exploit TPL's novel soft lithography microcontact printing (¿CP) fabrication processfor non-silicon materials.In phase I, TPL will develop nano-supercapacitors with a volume of ~1000 ¿m3 and ~10 ¿m length for integration with NEMS devices. The innovative design will exploit the properties of carbon nanotubes to achieve a capacitance 1.5x higher than traditionalactivated carbons, with an equivalent series resistance, ESR, that is 1000x smaller, resulting in the highest power density available for supercapacitors. Nano-supercapacitors are an essential component of a NEPS that can supply the high power densitiesand short time constants required for transient power needs.TPL is the world leader in Micro Electrochemical Power Supplies, already having produced micro-batteries and micro-supercapacitors that outperform commercially available competitors of larger footprint. Nano electrochemical power supplies will have applications in new and emerging NEMS devices, high-speed electronics, smart cards and smart labels, in-place sensors, and pico-satellites.