Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting for Low Power Sensors

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks and the internet of things are benefiting from recent advances in power consumption to implement intelligent control entities. Similar advances in battery technology have enabled these systems to become autonomous. Nevertheless, this approach is insufficient for modern applications. An alternative solution to power these sensors is to use the energy available in their environment, such as thermal, mechanical vibration, light or radio frequencies. However, sensors are frequently placed in an environment where power density is low. This study investigates energy harvesting from radio frequencies compared to other sources. After demonstrating the potential for collecting energy over a wide frequency band, a statistical study was carried out to determine the RF power density present in the urban environment and in rural areas. Multi-band RF harvester systems were designed to harvest energy in several frequency bands to show when multiple RF sources are available. The amount of energy harvested can be increased when the system is designed to operate over a wide frequency band. In this study, multiband RF energy harvester to power wireless sensors is produced using Advanced Design Software (ADS). According to the design outcomes the proposed energy harvesting scheme works better on the GSM900 and GSM1800 bands.