An Adaptive Power Harvester with Active Load Modulation for Highly Efficient Short/Long Range RF WPT Applications

• Main Authors: Abdullah M. Almohaimeed, Rony E. Amaya, Jose A. Lima, Mustapha C. E. Yagoub
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-07-01
• Series: Electronics
• Subjects: rectifier; schottky diode; efficiency; wireless sensor network; WPT
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/7/7/125

After demonstrating, in previous works, the proof of concept of adaptive rectifiers with active load modulation to operate simultaneously for short/long range RF Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) while maintaining a high Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE), the authors introduced in this paper a power link budget of the proposed adaptive rectifier with a compromise between distance and efficiency. Then, to further exhibit its capabilities and enhance its performance, this paper first introduced a discussion about the parameters preventing the rectifier from operating over a wide range of input powers was performed. Furthermore, active load modulation was implemented and its co-simulation results presented. Finally, an adaptive rectifier was fabricated and its results successfully compared to measured data. It exhibits 40% of PCE over a wide dynamic input range of incident RF power levels from −6 to 25 dBm at the 900 MHz in the Industrial Scientific Medical band (ISM band), with a maximum PCE of 66% for an input power of 15 dBm. The proposed devices are therefore suitable for WPT applications to harvest energy from a controlled source.