Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless Charging

Laser wireless power transfer (LWPT) offers a transformative approach to wireless energy transmission, addressing critical limitations in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as battery energy limitation. However, challenges like beam divergence, non-uniform irradiation, and alignment instability li...

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Main Authors: Zheting Meng, Yuting Xiao, Lianwei Chen, Si Wang, Yao Fang, Jiangning Zhou, Yang Li, Dapeng Zhang, Mingbo Pu, Xiangang Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Photonics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/2/150
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author Zheting Meng
Yuting Xiao
Lianwei Chen
Si Wang
Yao Fang
Jiangning Zhou
Yang Li
Dapeng Zhang
Mingbo Pu
Xiangang Luo
author_facet Zheting Meng
Yuting Xiao
Lianwei Chen
Si Wang
Yao Fang
Jiangning Zhou
Yang Li
Dapeng Zhang
Mingbo Pu
Xiangang Luo
author_sort Zheting Meng
collection DOAJ
description Laser wireless power transfer (LWPT) offers a transformative approach to wireless energy transmission, addressing critical limitations in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as battery energy limitation. However, challenges like beam divergence, non-uniform irradiation, and alignment instability limit its practical application. Here, we present a lightweight air-floating metalens platform to overcome these barriers. This innovative lens focuses laser beams near the photovoltaic receiver with an energy distribution uniformity across a single spot at the focal plane that is 50 times greater than that of a conventional Gaussian beam spot, achieving a multi-spot energy distribution uniformity of up to 99% theoretically. Experimentally, we achieved 75% uniformity using a metalens sample. Simultaneously, our system maintains superior beam quality within a dynamic range of 4 m and enhances charging efficiency by 1.5 times. Our research provides a robust technical solution to improve UAV endurance, enabling efficient, long-range wireless power transfer and opening broader technological implications.
format Article
id doaj-art-65e7b28bd4014ad4a8e83777fef69871
institution DOAJ
issn 2304-6732
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Photonics
spelling doaj-art-65e7b28bd4014ad4a8e83777fef698712025-08-20T03:12:09ZengMDPI AGPhotonics2304-67322025-02-0112215010.3390/photonics12020150Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless ChargingZheting Meng0Yuting Xiao1Lianwei Chen2Si Wang3Yao Fang4Jiangning Zhou5Yang Li6Dapeng Zhang7Mingbo Pu8Xiangang Luo9National Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, ChinaLaser wireless power transfer (LWPT) offers a transformative approach to wireless energy transmission, addressing critical limitations in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as battery energy limitation. However, challenges like beam divergence, non-uniform irradiation, and alignment instability limit its practical application. Here, we present a lightweight air-floating metalens platform to overcome these barriers. This innovative lens focuses laser beams near the photovoltaic receiver with an energy distribution uniformity across a single spot at the focal plane that is 50 times greater than that of a conventional Gaussian beam spot, achieving a multi-spot energy distribution uniformity of up to 99% theoretically. Experimentally, we achieved 75% uniformity using a metalens sample. Simultaneously, our system maintains superior beam quality within a dynamic range of 4 m and enhances charging efficiency by 1.5 times. Our research provides a robust technical solution to improve UAV endurance, enabling efficient, long-range wireless power transfer and opening broader technological implications.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/2/150multi-foci metalenshigh-efficiencylightweightairborne charging
spellingShingle Zheting Meng
Yuting Xiao
Lianwei Chen
Si Wang
Yao Fang
Jiangning Zhou
Yang Li
Dapeng Zhang
Mingbo Pu
Xiangang Luo
Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless Charging
Photonics
multi-foci metalens
high-efficiency
lightweight
airborne charging
title Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless Charging
title_full Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless Charging
title_fullStr Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless Charging
title_full_unstemmed Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless Charging
title_short Floating Multi-Focus Metalens for High-Efficiency Airborne Laser Wireless Charging
title_sort floating multi focus metalens for high efficiency airborne laser wireless charging
topic multi-foci metalens
high-efficiency
lightweight
airborne charging
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/2/150
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