Rectenna Systems for RF Energy Harvesting and Wireless Power Transfer

With the rapid development of the wireless systems and demands of low-power integrated electronic circuits, various research trends have tended to study the feasibility of powering these circuits by harvesting free energy from ambient electromagnetic space or by using dedicated RF source. Wireless power transmission (WPT) technology was first pursued by Tesla over a century ago. However, it faced several challenges for deployment in real applications. Recently, energy harvesting and WPT technologies have received much attention as a clean and renewable power source. Rectenna (rectifying antenna) system can be used for remotely charging batteries in several sensor networks at internet of things (IoT) applications as commonly used in smart buildings, implanted medical devices and automotive applications. Rectenna, which is used to convert from RF energy to usable DC electrical energy, is mainly a combination between a receiving antenna and a rectifier circuit. This chapter will present several designs for single and multiband rectennas with different characteristics for energy harvesting applications. Single and multiband antennas as well as rectifier circuits with matching networks are introduced for complete successful rectenna circuit models. At the end of the chapter, a dual-band rectenna example is introduced with a detailed description for each section of the rectenna

WPT, Recent Techniques for Improving System Efficiency

Wireless power transfer (WPT) technologies have received much more attention during the last decade due to their effectiveness in wireless charging for a wide range of electronic devices. To transmit power between two points without a physical link, conventional WPT systems use two coils, one coil is a transmitter (Tx) and the other is a receiver (Rx) which generates an induced current from the received power. Two main factors control the performance of the WPT schemes, power transfer efficiency (PTE) and transmission range. Power transfer efficiency refers to how much power received by the rechargeable device compared to the power transmitted from the transmitter; while transmission range indicates the longest distance between transmitter and receiver at which the receiver can receive power within the acceptable range of power transfer efficiency. Several studies were carried out to improve these two parameters. Many techniques are used for WPT such as inductive coupling, magnetic resonance coupling, and strongly coupled systems. Recently, metamaterial structures are also proposed for further transfer efficiency enhancement. Metamaterials work as an electromagnetic lensing structure that focuses the evanescent transmitted power into receiver direction. Transmitting & Receiving antenna systems may be used for sending power in certain radiation direction. Optimizing the transmitter antenna and receiver antenna characteristics increase the efficiency for WPT systems. This chapter will present a survey on different wireless power transmission schemes

A pattern reconfigurable antenna using eight-dipole configuration for energy harvesting applications

A pattern reconfigurable antenna, composed of eight elements, is proposed for energy harvesting applications. Pattern reconfigurable antennas are a promising technique for harvesting from different wireless sources. The radiation pattern of the proposed antenna can be steered electronically using an RF switch matrix, covering an angle range from 0 to 360 degrees with a step size of 45 degrees. The proposed antenna primarily consists of an eight-dipole configuration that shares the same excitation. Each dipole is excited using a balun comprising a quarter-wavelength grounded stub and a quarter-wavelength open-circuit stub. The proposed antenna operates in the frequency range of 4.17 to 4.5 GHz, with an impedance bandwidth of 7.6%. By switching between the different switches, the antenna can be steered with a narrower rotational angle. In addition, the antenna can work in an omnidirectional mode when all switches are in the ON state simultaneously. The results demonstrate a good agreement between the numerical and experimental findings for the reflection coefficient and radiation characteristics of the proposed reconfigurable antenna