Development of flexible capacitors for energy harvesting in smart packaging

Abstract

Supplying power to the sensors and electronic devices that are part of smart packaging is still a challenge. A sustainable solution is through the implementation of energy harvesting systems taking advantage of the RF energy available in the environment. It is proposed to design packaging that is itself an RF wave energy storage and harvesting system. This work focuses on converting the plastic film that makes up the packaging into an energy storage capacitor. Polyethylene nanocomposite films with barium titanate, a material of high dielectric constant, are obtained and their performance as capacitors is analyzed. Fabrication strategies are presented, different titanate loading concentrations are studied and measurements are carried out to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve sufficient capacities to power ultra-low power sensors.