Extendable Array Rectenna for a Microwave Wireless Power Transfer System

Abstract

A rectenna is adopted in a microwave-based wireless power transfer system to rectify the received RF to DC power. Each rectenna includes a DC-DC converter at the DC output port to ensure a stable power supply and a Schottky diode for the DC-combining network. The results demonstrate that the RF-DC conversion efficiencies of the rectifier circuit and 4 × 1 rectenna were 71% and 71.2% when the unit-cell RF input level was 19 dBm and 19.6 dBm. The DC output levels of a 4 × 8 rectenna with and without the DC-DC converter were 28 V and 30 V when the unit-cell RF input level was 20.2 dBm. The RF-DC conversion efficiency was measured as 52.6% and 59.9% with and without the DC-DC converter, respectively. The Schottky diode combined with the D-DC C converter at the DC output port exhibits an increase in the DC power combining level, making it suitable for an extendable array rectenna system.

An efficient 5.8 GHz microwave wireless power transmission system

“…19 Extensive system-level research on MWPT has been conducted in recent years. [20][21][22] In 2019, B. Hu performed a Ku-band MWPT experiment. 20 The transmitting antenna was a Cassegrain antenna, and the receiving one was an array antenna.…”

“…The received DC power was 142 W, and the RF-DC efficiency was 10.88% when the transmission distance was 5 m. Furthermore, an extendable array rectenna for a MWPT system was proposed. 22 The transmitting antenna was 1.8 m  1.2 m with a right-hand circular polarization gain of 16.5 dBic, and the receiving antenna was 2.5 m  2.2 m with 128 rectenna units. The transmission distance was 50 m, and the RF-DC efficiency was 1.7%.…”

“…Extensive system‐level research on MWPT has been conducted in recent years 20–22 . In 2019, B. Hu performed a Ku‐band MWPT experiment 20 .…”

“…A waveguide slot array was used as the transmitting antenna, and 1304 W microwave power was obtained as output. The received DC power was 142 W, and the RF‐DC efficiency was 10.88% when the transmission distance was 5 m. Furthermore, an extendable array rectenna for a MWPT system was proposed 22 . The transmitting antenna was 1.8 m × 1.2 m with a right‐hand circular polarization gain of 16.5 dBic, and the receiving antenna was 2.5 m × 2.2 m with 128 rectenna units.…”