Extendable Array Rectenna for a Microwave Wireless Power Transfer System

• Main Authors: Jeong-Min Woo, Wonseob Lim, Jongseok Bae, Chan Mi Song, Kyoung-Joo Lee, Sang-Hwa Yi, Youngoo Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2021-01-01
• Series: IEEE Access
• Subjects: Rectenna; Schottky diodes; wireless power transmission
• Online Access: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9477563/

In this study, a rectenna is adopted in a microwave-based wireless power transfer system to rectify the received radio frequency (RF) to DC power. Each rectenna comprises 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 indicate that the RF-DC conversion efficiencies of the rectifier circuit and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$4\times 1$ </tex-math></inline-formula> rectenna were 71&#x0025; and 71.2&#x0025; when the unit-cell RF input levels were 19 dBm and 19.6 dBm, respectively. Furthermore, the DC output levels of a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$4\times8$ </tex-math></inline-formula> rectenna with and without the DC-DC converter were 28 V and 30 V, respectively, when the unit-cell RF input level was 20.2 dBm. Additionally, the RF-DC conversion efficiencies were 52.6&#x0025; and 59.9&#x0025; with and without the DC-DC converter, respectively. Thus, we experimentally verified that the Schottky diode combined with the DC-DC converter at the DC output port can increase the DC power combining level, making it suitable as an extendable array rectenna system.