The worldwide reference Conference on wireless power transmission awards the 'Excellent paper' prize to a CiTIUS work
Javier Fernández Lozano, pre-doctoral researcher at the centre, receives the 'Paper Award' at the OWPT 2023 conference in Yokohama (Japan), a meeting attended by the leading global experts in the field.
The International Congress on Optical and Wireless Fibre Power Transmission (OWPT2023) has just distinguished a CiTIUS paper with one of the four 'Paper Awards' of its 5th Edition; a pioneering conference considered as the global scientific meeting of reference in laser power transmission, as demonstrated every year by the presence of the world's leading experts in the area.
"Wireless optical power transmission consists, in a nutshell, of sending energy to a photovoltaic receiver via a laser," says first author Javier Fernández Lozano. "In this work, we have managed to improve the efficiency of these receivers by 20% by proposing new materials in their construction," explains the researcher.
In the winning article, the CiTIUS team has modelled and optimised a type of photovoltaic receiver based on VEHSA architecture (the most advanced at present), proposing the use of new materials, such as silicon carbide, as a novelty. "With this, not only have we managed to significantly increase the efficiency of our devices, but we can also convert much higher laser powers". The CiTIUS pre-doctoral researcher stresses that these results "open the way to a new generation of ultra-efficient laser power converters".
Regarding the award, the PhD student acknowledges that it was "a motivational boost". "All the heavyweights in our field were present at this congress, so we decided to send something with a lot of substance... a synthesis of the extensive work we have been doing over the last two years," he continues. This work caught the attention of the congress organisers, who communicated their decision and congratulated the authors "after a rigorous review by the OWPT2023 Programme Committee". Researchers Natalia Seoane, Antonio García-Loureiro and Enrique Comesaña also participated in the work.
"The prize is a recognition that the path we have chosen has a future, and that we are on the right track," says Javier. "In short, I have received the best antidote to the eternal syndrome of the pre-doctoral impostor," he jokes.