Safety Analysis for Distributed Coupled-Cavity Laser based Wireless Power Transfer

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the safety of distributed coupled-cavity laser wireless power transfer systems, demonstrating their ability to deliver high power safely over long distances while minimizing risks to skin, eyes, and small objects.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive safety assessment framework for DCCL-WPT systems, including irradiation modeling, human eye safety evaluation, and intrusion sensitivity analysis.

Findings

Achieves over 600 mW charging power at 5 m distance under skin-safe conditions.

Demonstrates 150 mW charging power with eye-safe beam parameters.

Shows high sensitivity to small-object intrusion, enabling hazard mitigation.

Abstract

Intracavity laser-based systems are emerging as key enablers for next-generation wireless communications, positioning, and wireless power transfer (WPT). Distributed coupled-cavity laser (DCCL) systems, as a representative configuration, have been proposed to expand the field of view (FoV) and enhance safety. This paper investigates the safety assessment of DCCL-WPT systems through three case studies: skin safety, eye safety, and small-object intrusion sensitivity. First, we establish a safety analysis model to quantify irradiation levels on intruding objects in the beam path, which simulates intracavity beam propagation using diffraction modeling and gain-loss dynamics under case-specific boundary conditions. Next, we formulate an eye safety evaluation tailored for DCCL-WPT systems using a human head model to identify potential exposure angles and distances. Ray tracing confirms that intracavity beams are not focused onto the retina, making cornea exposure the primary consideration (irradiance is below 0.1 W/cm2). Numerical results demonstrate that DCCL-WPT achieves: i) over 600 mW charging power under skin-safe conditions at 5 m distance (100 mW over 16{\deg} FoV), and nearly 50% lower irradiance on intruding objects compared to single-cavity systems; ii) 150 mW charging power under eye-safe conditions with 650 mW 1064 nm output beam power, far beyond the typical ~10 mW eye-safe threshold; iii) high sensitivity to small-object intrusion, enabling hazard mitigation. These findings underscore the practicality of DCCL-WPT systems for mobile, long-distance, and safe energy transfer, and lay the groundwork for future safety-aware optimizations in real-world deployments.