Batteryless E-Paper Displays and Energy Harvesting Methods

This advanced undergraduate-level engineering project demonstrates how to build a completely batteryless display system by combining NFC energy harvesting with an ultra-low-power electronic paper screen. At the heart of the hardware setup is the DENFC-M0 energy harvesting board, which captures radio frequency energy from a nearby NFC-enabled smartphone or dedicated NFC display writer device. When the smartphone or writer is brought into close proximity, the harvesting module intercepts the RF field and converts it into a localized electrical supply. This harvested energy temporarily powers the system controller and the connected GDEY0213B74 e-ink display. Firmware developed using the Keil IDE is deployed to the controller via an ST link emulator connector module, managing the initialization and screen data transmission over an SPI interface. The GDEY0213B74 display features a 250x122 resolution, an SSD1680Z driver IC, and supports a 1.5-second refresh rate along with 4-grayscale imaging. Because electronic paper (e-ink) is bistable—meaning it only consumes electrical power when the physical ink particles are actively being rearranged—the display retains its visual content indefinitely without drawing any standby current once the update cycle completes. This clever pairing of near-field power scavenging and reflective display technology completely removes the need for physical batteries, bulky wiring, or external power supplies, proving how passive electronics can drive sophisticated visual indicators entirely via inductive coupling during data updates.