Photometric, Photovoltaic and Photoluminescent Approaches in Energy-Autonomous Sensing Systems

From sensors of the health of the human body to monitors for the health of the natural environment, power supply represents a key challenge. This talk describes materials-oriented approaches that exploit ambient light as a mechanism for harvesting energy to support operation of these and related systems. Specific emphasis is on the synergistic and/or individual use of photometric schemes (i.e. those that use light as the basis for sensing), photovoltaic devices and/or photoluminescent materials. Examples span ‘always-on’ electronic light dosimeters for applications in dermatology, to light-triggered temporary cardiac pacemakers for postsurgical care, to wearable, wireless oximeters for health monitoring, to passive microfliers for distributed sensing of the environment.