Miniaturizing Power: Harnessing Micro-Supercapacitors for advanced micro-electronics

Rapid development in microelectronics demands the advancement of energy retention devices at the micro-scale, considering their compact size and remarkable ability to store energy. Due to high power density and speedy charge–discharge capacities, supercapacitors (SCs) have collected major attention as energy storage devices in the field of microelectronics. However, their existing design presents compatibility issues during integration with micro-electronic systems. The recent development in the new micro-scale device pattern referred to as micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) holds great potential to address those issues. MSCs rated as a promising type of micro-scale energy storage devices benefit from their intense power density, high-speed charge–discharge rate, exceptional cycling stability, and impressive safety features. Herein, we have described the recent progress in MSCs considering their physical dimensions, encompassing electrode width (w), electrode separation (d), and electrode thickness (z), all typically within the micro-scale range. This also includes various components of the MSCs such as electrode materials, electrolytes, fabrication techniques, and their integration. Furthermore, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of MSCs are extensively presented. In addition, a detailed discussion is presented on the utilization of self-powered MSCs in microelectronic devices. To summarize, this review has detailed the prospects and upcoming developments in self-powered MSCs.