How PowerBeaming Works

At one end, electricity is turned into optical energy via a laser. The laser is then pointed at a detector on an object to be powered.  Then, the optical energy is turned back into electricity and powers the device. The targeting can be direct line of site, redirected by mirrors to the destination, and for moving/movable objects the mirrors and lasers can be aimed with computer-controlled pan-and-tilts.  The key to this is PowerBeam’s patented safety system: No person ever comes in contact with significant amonts of power.

Transmitter description

The transmitter consists of variable number of laser diodes, computer control, and safety electronics  Each laser diode is capable of operating CW at 1W-5W. Current wall plug efficiencies are 30 percent to 60 percent, depending on your application. The laser beams are intentionally spread for safety such that the power density averages 1mW/mm2 to 10mW/mm2.

Receiver description

The receiver consists of several detectors, usually with lenses in front of them, and electronics for handshaking, safety, and power conversion. The receiver has a low-power NIR laser to create a back channel to the transmitter. This back channel is used for handshaking and safety. The detector is designed to be physically easy to recognize by a transmitter that is constantly looking to acquire a target to charge. Generally the detector dimensions are larger than the PowerBeams by 20mm. This allows slop and margin for safety.

In between the Transmitter and the Receiver

PowerBeam uses Infrared Lasers that are completely invisible to the human eye.  Because the lasers are invisible, one can mount the PowerBeam System in any location in a facility or home and they will not affect the aesthetics of a room.  In fact, unless you are looking for the system, you will not even know it is there.     

Safety considerations

The “secret sauce” in the PowerBeam solution is the safety system. PowerBeam’s patent-pending safety system uses a series of techniques to be certain that human exposure remains below FDA laser safety requirements. If a person or animal attempts to break the bream, the laser is shut off immediately and the power transfer ceases.  With no power being transmitted over the laser, no harm can be done.  Additionally, a series of other safety methods assure that no light will be reflected to an unacceptable direction and will only be absorbed by the receiver. 

Efficiency considerations

Efficiency is another trend that will continue to make PowerBeam increasingly useful for more higher-power applications. Detectors are very efficient, usually 40% - 50%. Lasers are 30% to 60%, depending on the application. There is little conversion loss, as the output is DC as are most loads. As a result, one can expect wall-plug efficiencies anywhere from 15% - 30%, depending on the application. The probable limit of improvement is 35%. This is highly efficient compared to light bulbs and motors.

Extensibility