A New Approach to Power Distribution by a Dual-Gate MOSFET for Controlling a Smart Actuator Array

Abstract

Remotely driven smart actuator technology by microwave is attractive since it simplifies and reduces the complexity and weight of the remote system. A rectifying antenna (rectenna) array receives and converts microwave power into DC power for actuators, and the power collected from the rectenna array should be accurately allocated and distributed to each actuator. In this research, a new power distribution (PD) logic circuit is studied to control an actuator array effectively. The PD logic circuit was designed and tested to validate it. The preliminary design was tested for a 4 × 4 piezoelectric actuator array with a 16 dual-gate MOSFET array and a computer-controlled 16-channel DAC board. Additionally, power compensation as a remedial approach for a partial power failure of the array was integrated. This PD scheme with a new logic device simplifies the thousands of control cables required for connecting each array element. The performance and limitations of the designed PD circuit are discussed.