Superextensive electrical power from a quantum battery

Superextensivity, where the response of a physical system scales super-linearly with size, originates from collective quantum effects and provides a promising route to augment next-generation quantum technologies. While recent work has demonstrated superextensive behaviour in the coherent dynamics of quantum systems, these effects typically occur on short timescales, prohibiting their practical utility. In contrast, triggering steady-state superextensive effects in, for example, a generated electric current, remains unexplored despite the immediate impact on photovoltaic technologies. Here, we utilise a microcavity quantum battery as an experimental platform that superextensively captures light energy and converts it to an electric current via the incorporation of charge transport layers into the resonant microcavity. This architecture enables, for the first time, a complete quantum battery charge-discharge cycle. We demonstrate that strong light-matter coupling induced by the microcavity leads to superextensive scaling of the steady-state electrical discharging power under low-intensity, incoherent illumination. Our results provide the first experimental demonstration of superextensive light-to-charge conversion in steady-state, highlighting the feasibility of leveraging strong light-matter coupling for enhanced energy harvesting under low-light conditions.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Light Science & Applications
Published
2026-03-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02240-6
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Strong Light-Matter Interactions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
31.39

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Superextensive electrical power from a quantum battery

Daniel E. Gómez, Tadahiko Hirai, Christopher Dunn, James A. Hutchison et al.
1 citations
Light Science & Applications
Strong Light-Matter Interactions
31.39
article

Superextensive electrical power from a quantum battery

Daniel E. Gómez, Tadahiko Hirai, Christopher Dunn, James A. Hutchison, Kieran Hymas, James Q. Quach, Jack B. Muir, Joel van Embden, Daniel J. Tibben, Trevor A. Smith
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Superextensivity, where the response of a physical system scales super-linearly with size, originates from collective quantum effects and provides a promising route to augment next-generation quantum technologies. While recent work has demonstrated superextensive behaviour in the coherent dynamics of quantum systems, these effects typically occur on short timescales, prohibiting their practical utility. In contrast, triggering steady-state superextensive effects in, for example, a generated electric current, remains unexplored despite the immediate impact on photovoltaic technologies. Here, we utilise a microcavity quantum battery as an experimental platform that superextensively captures light energy and converts it to an electric current via the incorporation of charge transport layers into the resonant microcavity. This architecture enables, for the first time, a complete quantum battery charge-discharge cycle. We demonstrate that strong light-matter coupling induced by the microcavity leads to superextensive scaling of the steady-state electrical discharging power under low-intensity, incoherent illumination. Our results provide the first experimental demonstration of superextensive light-to-charge conversion in steady-state, highlighting the feasibility of leveraging strong light-matter coupling for enhanced energy harvesting under low-light conditions.

Light Science & ApplicationsVol. 15(1)
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU), The University of Melbourne (AU), RMIT University (AU)
Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Strong Light-Matter Interactions
31.39
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.