RF power harvesting: a review on designing methodologies and applications

• Published in: Micro and nano systems letters Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 1
• Main Authors: Tran, Le-Giang, Cha, Hyouk-Kyu, Park, Woo-Tae
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 28-02-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Applied and Technical Physics; Circuit design; Circuits and Systems; Design; Electrical Engineering; Energy harvesting; Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Nanotechnology; Radio frequency; Review; Wireless power transmission; Radio frequency; Wireless sensor networks; Wireless power harvesting; Impedance matching network; Voltage multiplier; Antenna
• ISSN: 2213-9621
• DOI: 10.1186/s40486-017-0051-0

Wireless power transmission was conceptualized nearly a century ago. Certain achievements made to date have made power harvesting a reality, capable of providing alternative sources of energy. This review provides a summ ary of radio frequency (RF) power harvesting technologies in order to serve as a guide for the design of RF energy harvesting units. Since energy harvesting circuits are designed to operate with relatively small voltages and currents, they rely on state-of-the-art electrical technology for obtaining high efficiency. Thus, comprehensive analysis and discussions of various designs and their tradeoffs are included. Finally, recent applications of RF power harvesting are outlined.