Meshed high-impedance matching network-free rectenna optimized for additive manufacturing

Wagih, M. , Weddell, A. S. and Beeby, S. (2020) Meshed high-impedance matching network-free rectenna optimized for additive manufacturing. IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation, 1, pp. 615-626. (doi: 10.1109/ojap.2020.3038001)

Abstract

Additive manufacturing using direct-write or screen printing represent low-waste methods for fabricating antennas on low-cost flexible substrates. To realize rectennas using low-resolution printing methods, high-impedance antennas with simple printable geometries are required. This article proposes an electrically-small (0.212 × 0.212λ 2 ) folded dipole antenna design with a scalable impedance for directly matching energy harvesting rectifiers. The antenna is demonstrated in a high-efficiency sub-1 GHz rectenna, with varying mesh fill-factors for optical transparency. The proposed solid (non-transparent) and meshed (70%-transparent) rectennas achieve a Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) of over 70% and 60% from sub-1μW/cm 2 power densities, at 940 and 920 MHz, respectively. This represents a 37% improvement in the PCE over state-of-the-art flexible rectennas while maintaining the smallest electrical size and simplest design by not requiring a matching network. The 70%-transparent rectenna's performance is investigated in real-life use-cases showing its suitability for ambient RF energy harvesting with over 500 mV DC output from a phone-call.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported in part by the European Commission through the EnABLES Project through H2020-EU.1.4.1.2 under Grant 730957, and in part by the U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under Grant EP/P010164/1.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wagih, Dr Mahmoud
• Authors: Wagih, M., Weddell, A. S., and Beeby, S.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• ISSN: 2637-6431
• ISSN (Online): 2637-6431
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Author(s)
• First Published: First published in IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation 1:615-626
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license