A Dual-Band Antenna for RF Energy Harvesting Systems in Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on ambient radio frequency energy available from commercial broadcasting stations in order to provide a system based on RF energy harvesting using a new design of receiving antenna. Several antenna designs have been proposed for use in RF energy harvesting systems, as a pertinent receiving antenna design is highly required since the antenna features can affect the amount of energy harvested. The proposed antenna is aimed at greatly increasing the energy harvesting efficiency over Wi-Fi bands: 2.45 GHz and 5 GHz. This provides a promising alternative energy source in order to power sensors located in harsh environments or remote places, where other energy sources are impracticable. The dual-band antenna can be easily integrated with RF energy harvesting system on the same circuit board. Simulations and measurements were carried out to evaluate the antenna performances and investigate the effects of different design parameters on the antenna performance. The receiving antenna meets the required bandwidth specification and provides peak gain of more than 4 dBi across the operating band.

Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting Sources

“…One of the main challenges to RF energy harvesting from commercial telecommunications networks is the low power density which is in the order of 0.2 nW/cm 2 -1 W/cm 2 [26,[30][31], compared to that of fairly mature energy harvesting techniques like solar photovoltaic with higher densities in the range of 20 μW/cm 2 − 10 mW/cm 2 [41]. Nevertheless, the pervasive distribution of commercial information and communications networks in urban, metropolitan and peri-urban environments make RF a comparatively strong and reliable ambient source, despite the traffic fluctuations and some unpredictable nature in radio wave propagation [42].…”

“…The recent interest in RF harvesting has also been driven by the great progress in both wireless communication systems and broadcasting technologies that have availed a lot of freely propagating ambient RF energy [25][26][27][28][29]. While ambient RF sources have a comparably low power density of 0.2 nW/cm 2 to 1 W/cm 2 [26,[30][31] relative to other ambient energy sources such as solar, RF signals have the advantage of being fairly ubiquitous and the associated energy is radiated continuously. Unlike solar/light energy harvesting which can be intermittent, RF energy harvesting is viable continuously during day and night hours for both indoor and outdoor environments.…”

“…As we get into the future, and the society gets even more wirelessly interconnected, the number of RF energy sources will continue to increase, especially as the number of mobile subscribers to wireless networks increases. The increase in the number of operating mobile phones, together with Wi-Fi routers, laptops and smartphones will greatly avail electromagnetic signals from which useful electrical energy can be extracted [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. The ubiquitous ambient RF energy can be extracted and used to charge batteries [27] or energize a multiple range of low-power electronic devices, including wearable smart devices [21], RFID tracking tags [35], and wireless sensor devices [13][14][15]36].…”

MEMS Based RF Energy Harvester for Battery-Less Remote Control: A Review

“…In this research work, a dual-band patch of narrowband antenna is preferred for the RF energy harvesting system which is inspired by Li et al (2013;Bakkali et al, 2016). This is due to its capability of achieving higher performance efficiency than single frequency RF harvester, in case conversion losses parameters are taken into account.…”

Development of Large Aperture Microstrip Antenna for Radio Wave Energy Harvesting

“…Antenna is one of the most explored in this instrumentation development, as it plays an important role in capturing the electromagnetic wave and converts it into electrical wave. Some antenna designs have been proposed to be employed in energy harvesting systems, including antenna geometry modification [1][2][3][4][5][6], dual-band and multi-band antennas [7][8][9][10][11] and the utilization of array antenna system [12].…”