Analysis and Optimization of Ultra-Low-Power Rectifier with High Efficiency for Applications in Wireless Power Transmission and Energy Harvesting

Abstract

The system capable of harvesting RF energy from the environment through an antenna and converting it into direct current energy to deliver to a load is known as rectenna. The rectifier circuit is an important part of the rectenna and its modeling is arduous since it employs a non-linear device working at extremely low power levels. In addition, there are some losses in the system. Thus, the design of a high-efficient rectifier is a great challenge. In this work, several rectifier topologies are optimized, using the Genetic Algorithm, in order to achieve the highest efficiency and output voltage. An analysis of the influence of the variables on the output of these rectifiers was also performed. The topologies under investigation were optimized for −15 dBm input power and 2.45 GHz operating frequency, in accordance with the most suitable band for energy harvesting. Under these conditions, the Monodiode Series topology presents the best performance. When the input power is −15 dBm, it presents an output voltage of 402 mV and an efficiency of 51.3%. At that power level, the achieved efficiency is higher than that found in the literature.

Index Terms
Low Power Rectifier; Optimization; Power Harvest; Rectenna