Rectennas for

Wireless Energy
Harvesting
Jingwei Zhang and Yi
Huang*
zjw131@liverpool.ac.uk and
Yi.Huang@liverpool.ac.uk
Department of Electrical Engineering
and Electronics, niversit! of
"iverpool, "iverpool, "#$ 3%&

'
AbstractElectromagnetics has an important
role in power and energy industry. In this
paper, the concept of rectenna is introduced
firstly. The history of rectenna for wireless
energy harvesting and transmission is then
reviewed. Finally examples are employed to
illustrate some rectenna design and
measurement issues such as rectenna
impedance matching and its conversion
efficiency. It is also shown that rectennas can
harvest wireless energy efficiently under
certain conditions and have the potential to
become a power supplier for some special
applications.
Key words: Rectennas, wireless power
transmission, wireless energy harvesting,
rectenna conversion efficiency
I.
INTR!"#
TIN
ver the $ast two decades% &any wireless
syste&s have 'een develo$ed and widely used
around the world. The &ost i&$ortant e(a&$les
are cellular &o'ile radio and Wi)*i syste&s. Just
li+e radio and television 'roadcasting syste&s%
they radiate electro&agnetic waves,energy into
the air 'ut a large a&ount of the energy is actually
wasted% thus how to harvest and recycle the
a&'ient wireless electro&agnetic energy has
'eco&e an increasingly interesting to$ic.
ne of the &ost $ro&ising &ethods to harvest
the wireless energy is to use a rectenna
which is a co&'ination of a
rectifier and an antenna. - ty$ical 'loc+ diagra&
is shown in
*ig. .. The wireless energy can 'e collected 'y
the antenna attached to rectifying diodes through
filters and &atching circuit. The rectifying diodes
convert the received wireless energy into !#
$ower. The low)$ass filter will &atch the load
with the rectifier and 'loc+ the high
order har&onics generated 'y the diode in order
to achieve high energy conversion efficiency
which is the &ost i&$ortant $ara&eter of such a
device.
*ig.. /loc+ diagra& of a rectenna with a
load
There are at least two advantages for rectennas0
1.2 the life ti&e of the rectenna is al&ost
unli&ited and it does not need re$lace&ent
1unli+e 'atteries2. 132 It is 4green4 for the
environ&ent 1unli+e 'atteries% no de$osition to
$ollute the environ&ent2.
II. /-#56R"N! * WIRE7E88
9WER TR-N8:I88IN
-N! ENER6Y
H-R;E8TIN6
ver .<< years ago% the conce$t of wireless
$ower trans&ission was introduced and
de&onstrated 'y Tesla =.% 3>% he descri'ed a
&ethod of 4utili?ing effects trans&itted through
natural &edia4. This &ethod has 'een 'rought
$articularly into $ro&inence in recent years.
In fact% Tesla was unsuccessful to i&$le&ent
his wireless $ower trans&ission syste&s for
co&&ercial use 'ut he trans&itted $ower fro&
his oscillators which o$erated at .@< +H? to light
two light 'ul's. The reason for his unsuccessful
atte&$t was that the trans&itted $ower was
radiated to all directions at .@< +H? radio wave
whose wave length was 3< +& and the efficiency
was too low.
/ased on the develo$&ent of the &icrowave
tu'es during the World War II% rectification of
&icrowave signals for su$$lying !# $ower
through wireless trans&ission was $ro$osed and
researched in the conte(t of high $ower
'ea&ing since .A@<s. /. #. /rown started the
&odern era of wireless $ower trans&ission with
the advance&ent of high) $ower &icrowave tu'e
at Raytheon #o&$any =B>. /y .A@C% a
.@ +W average $ower)'and cross)field
a&$lifying tu'e was develo$ed that had a
&easured overall !# to R* conversion
efficiency of C.D. The first receiving device for
efficient
rece$tion and rectification of &icrowave $ower
e&erged in the early .AE<Fs.
- rectifying antenna or rectenna was develo$ed
'y Raytheon. The structure consisted of a half)
wave di$ole antenna with a 'alanced 'ridge or
single se&iconductor diode
$laced a'ove a reflecting $lane. The out$ut of the
rectenna
ele&ent is then connected to a resistive load.
3.G@ 6H? is widely used as the trans&itting
freHuency 'ecause of its advanced and efficient
technology 'ase% location at the center of an
industrial% scientific% and &edical 1I8:2 'and and
its &ini&al attenuation through the at&os$here
even in heavy rainstor&s. *ro& the .AE<Fs to the
.AI<Fs the conversion efficiency of the rectenna
was increased at this freHuency =G>.
#onversion efficiency is closely lin+ed to the
&icrowave $ower that is converted into !#
$ower 'y a rectenna ele&ent% the greatest
conversion efficiency ever recorded 'y a rectenna
ele&ent occurred in .AII 'y /rown in Raytheon
#o&$any using a 6a-s9t 8chott+y 'arrier diode%
a A<.ED conversion efficiency was recorded with
an in$ut &icrowave)$ower level of C W. This
rectenna ele&ent used alu&inu& 'ars to
construct the di$ole and trans&ission line =@>.
7ater% a $rinted
rectenna design was develo$ed at 3.G@ 6H? with
efficiencies around C@D =E>. :ore recently%
:c8$adden and #hang used the rectenna as a
receiving antenna attached to a rectifying circuit that
efficiently converts &icrowave energy into !#
$ower =I>.
-s an essential ele&ent of the rectenna% the
antenna of rectenna can 'e any ty$e such as a di$ole
=B% A>% Yagi)"da antenna =.<% ..>% &icrostri$ antenna
=.3% I% .B>% &ono$ole =.G>% co$lanar $atch =.@>%
s$iral antenna =.E>% or even $ara'olic antenna
=.I>. The rectenna can also ta+e any ty$e of
rectifying circuit such as single shunt full)wave
rectifier =I% .B%
.G>% full)wave 'ridge rectifier =B% .<>% or other
hy'rid rectifiers =..>. The circuit% es$ecially the
diode% &ainly deter&ines the R* to !# conversion
efficiency% rectennas with *ET =.G> or HE:T =.@>
a$$eared in recent years. The world record of the
R*)!# conversion efficiency a&ong develo$ed
rectennas is a$$ro(i&ately A<D at C W in$ut of 3.G@
6H? =B>. -s shown in *ig. 3% the R*)!#
conversion efficiency of the rectenna with a diode
de$ends on the &icrowave $ower in$ut intensity and
the o$ti&u& connected load. When the $ower is
s&all or the load is not &atched% the efficiency
'eco&es Huite low. The efficiency is also
deter&ined 'y the characteristic of the diode which
has its own Junction voltage and 'rea+down voltage%
if the in$ut voltage to the diode is lower than
the Junction voltage or is higher than the 'rea+down
voltage the diode does not show a rectifying
characteristic. -s a result% the R*)!# conversion
efficiency dro$s with a lower or higher in$ut than
the o$ti&u&.
It is worth noticing that all the recorded high
conversion efficiencies were generated fro& high
$ower incident level due to the reason we
&entioned a'ove. *or low $ower incident level% a
&easured conversion efficiency of 3.D was
achieved at a $ower incident of 3@< (W,c&
3
=.C>% of
course% in $rinci$le a high efficiency should 'e
achieva'le.
There are 'asically two a$$roaches to
increase the efficiency at the low &icrowave $ower
density. The one is to increase the antenna a$erture
as shown in =.I>. There are two $ro'le&s for this
a$$roach. It $roduces a high directivity and this is
only a$$lied for e(clusive a$$lications as 898
satellite e($eri&ent and not for low $ower
a$$lications li+e R*I! or &icrowave energy
recycling. The other a$$roach is to develo$ a new
rectifying circuit to increase the efficiency at a wea+
&icrowave in$ut.
*ig.3 6eneral relationshi$ 'etween
&icrowave to !# $ower conversion
efficiency and in$ut $ower =.A>
III. RE#TENN-
!E8I6N8
). *andwidt+ of
rectenna
The rectenna can 'e divided into narrow)'and
rectennas and wide)'and rectennas. :any narrow)
'and rectennas have 'een develo$ed. *or e(a&$le% a
dual)$olari?ed $atch rectenna at 3.G 6H? and a high
conversion efficiency rectenna at @.C
6H? were designed 'y :c8$adden in .AAG and
.AAC res$ectively =C% 3<>. However% very few 'road)
'and rectennas have 'een develo$ed which are the
&ost desira'le rectennas
for wireless energy harvesting. They &ay collect
energy fro&
syste&s o$erating at different freHuencies to
&a(i&i?e the out$ut $ower at a given location.
*. ,ectenna impedance
matc+ing
In order to o$ti&i?e the rectenna for &a(i&u&
$ower transfer% the antenna i&$edance &ust 'e
&atched to the i&$edance of rectifier diode. *or
e(a&$le in =3<>% -l$ha 8:8IEB<)<IA 8chott+y
diodes were used for rectification% and a source)
$ull si&ulation was used to o'tain the diode in$ut
i&$edance. *or a varia'le in$ut $ower% the resulting
!# voltage is Huantified for each source i&$edance
as shown on *ig. B 1a2 =3<>. The results shown on the
8&ith #hart indicate that the o$ti&u& source
i&$edance has to 'e $resented to each diode &oving
counter)cloc+wise with an increase in freHuency% and
closer to the centre of the 8&ith #hart with an
increase in in$ut $ower. The region of o$ti&al
source i&$edance is used to o$ti&i?e the antenna
design which needs to &atch the diode i&$edance.
1a2
1'2
*ig. B 1a2 8i&ulated range of o$ti&al source
i&$edance for schott+y diode fro& . to .E 6H? and
with a in$ut $ower fro& )B< d/& to .<
d/& 1'2 8i&ulated in$ut i&$edance for
s$iral antenna =3<>
The si&ulated in$ut i&$edance for a s$iral
antenna is $lotted on *ig B1'2. In this rectenna
structure the antenna is directly connect to a
shottc+y diode not a trans&ission line. Therefore%
the s$iral antenna should &atch to the diode in$ut
i&$edance. *or& *ig. B1a2 and 1'2% a good i&$edance
-
3
out % D.
/
out
?

1@2
,
load
Therefore% fro& eHuation 1.2% 1G2 and 1@2 the
conversion efficiency can 'e o'tained 'y
?
?
-
3out.D.
?
.
&atching 'etween the
antenna ele&ents and
their res$ective diodes
occurs in the region
around 3.I 6H? for
low)in$ut
?

?
?
?

,
l
o
a
d
1G
2
$owers and
around @.C)C
6H? for high)
in$ut $owers.
.
.

,
e
c
t
e
n
n
a

t
e
s
t
i
n
g
- ty$ical
e($eri&ental setu$
ado$ted to $erfor&
rectenna &easure&ents
is illustrated in *ig. G. In
order to $roduce a
varia'le $ower density% a
signal generator and an
a&$lifier are used.
:easure&ents can 'e
$erfor&ed 'y varying
the distance , fro& the
trans&itter antenna to
the rectenna or the
out$ut $ower. *or 'oth
cases% the far field
conditions should 'e
&et for 'oth antennas.
The out$ut voltage is
&easured fro& the load
resistant connected to
the rectenna 'y a voltage
&eter.
*ig. G
E($eri&ental
8et)u$ for
rectenna
characteristic
D
.

,
e
c
t
e
n
n
a

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
!
.
The efficiency of
the rectenna syste&
is 'asically eHuivalent
to its transfer function.
The general definition of
any efficiency 102 used
hereafter is the ratio of
the out$ut $ower /out
over the in$ut $ower
/in %
? ?
/out ,
/in .
1.2
The conversion
efficiency 1? 2 of the
whole syste& is the
!# $ower at the
receiver end over the
-# in$ut $ower
ca$tured 'y the syste&
1antenna2. This
efficiency is strongly
de$endent on the $ower
density 1 /d 2 distri'uted
across the receiver
a$erture. The &a(i&u&
incident $ower density
can 'e e($ressed as
/
/
t
%
t
d
?
132
G
?
,
3
Where /
t
is trans&itted
$ower% %
t
and %
r
are the
gains of the trans&itter
and receiver antennas%
and R is the distance.
The
It should 'e $ointed
out that this definition is
slightly different fro&
the one used in the
$hotovoltaic co&&unity
and it will give higher
efficiency due to the
use of the effective
a$erture rather than the
$hysical antenna
a$erture.
I
;
.

#

N
#
7
"
8
I

N
8
In this $a$er% we have
introduced the conce$t
of rectennas and
reviewed its history
'riefly. 8o&e i&$ortant
design issues of
rectennas have also 'een
addressed. :oreover% a
detailed discussion on
the rectenna efficiency
has 'een conducted. It is
clear that to achieve
high energy conversion
efficiency% &any
$ara&eters have to 'e
ta+en into account. *or
low $ower density cases%
high energy conversion
efficiency &ay not 'e
$ossi'le.
R
E
*
E
R
E
N
#
E
8
=.> Nicolas Tesla.
4E($eri&ents with
-lternate #urrent of
High 9otential and
High *reHuency1.
:c6raw% .A<G.
=3> Nicolas Tesla. 1The
trans&ission of
electric energy
without wires1. 2+e
t+irteent+
)nniversar!
3um4er of t+e
Electrical 5orld
and Engineer%
.A<G.
=B> Willia& #. /rown.
4The history of
$ower trans&ission
'y radio waves4.
6EEE 2rans. 722%
B31A20.3B<K.3G3%
.ACG.
=G> N. 8hinohara.
4Wireless $ower
trans&ission for solar
$ower satellite4.
3<<E.
htt$0,,www.ss$i.gate
ch.edu,w$tshinohara
.$df.
=@> 4Electronic and
&echanical
i&$rove&ent of the
receiving ter&inal
of a free)s$ace
&icrowave $ower
trans&ission
syste&%4
Raytheon
#o&$any%
Wayland% :-%
Tech.Re$.9T)GAEG%
N-8- RE9. #R)
.B@.AG%-ug. .AII
=E> W. # ./rown and J.
*. Triner% 4
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=I> J. . :c8$adden%
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circular $atch
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&icrowave $ower
conversion and
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72289
6nternational
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9!mposium Digest%
8an !iego% #-% $$.
.IGA)@3. .AAG
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:oll% 4Review of
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/roceedings of t+e
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=.<> N. 8hinohara% 8. 5uni&i% T.
:iura% H. :atsu&oto% and T.
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effec
tive
area
)eff
for
ante
nna
is
give
n as
?
3
%
r
4$en
e($eri&ent of
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)
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G
?
Therefore% use
eHuations 132 and 1B2
to o'tain the $ower
received 'y antenna as
EE.% .AAC.
=..> R. J. 6ut&ann and
R. /. 6wore+.
4Yagi)uda receiving
ele&ents in
&icrowave $ower
trans&ission syste&
rectennas4. &ournal
of 7icrowave
/ower, .G1G20B.B)
B3<% .AIA.
=.3> T. Ito% Y. *uJino%
and :. *uJita.
4*unda&ental
e($eri&ent of a
/in
? /d
?
)
eff
1G2
nna array for
&icrowave $ower
rece$tion4.
6E6.E 2rans.
.ommun.% E)IE)
/1.320.@<C).@.B%
.AAB.
/ecause the rectenna out$ut
is !# $ower% thus the out$ut
$ower we can o'tain
fro& the out$ut voltage
generated on the load
resistance 'y
=.B> :. *uJita N. 5aya
8. 5uni&i :. Ishii
N. gihata N.
5usa+a *uJino% Y.
and 8. Ida. - dual
$olari?ation
&icrowave $ower
trans&ission
syste& for &icrowave $ro$elled airshi$ e($eri&ent. /roc. de 69)/:$#%
30BAB)BAE% .AAE.
=.G> Y. -o+i :. tsu+a T. Idoga+i 8hi'ata% T. and T.
Hattori. 4:icrowave energy trans&ission
syste& for &icroro'ot.4 6E6.E82rans. Electr.%
C<)
c1320B<B)B<C% .AAI.
=.@> M. Lue #hin% #. H. 5 and #. H. #han.
4!esign of a @.C)6h?. rectenna incor$orating a
new $atch antenna4. 6EEE )ntenna and
5ireless
/ropagation "ett.% G0.I@).IC% 3<<@.
=.E> J. -. Hagerty% N. !. 7o$e?% /. 9o$ovic% and Z.
9o$ovic. 4/road'and rectenna arrays for
rando&ly $olari?ed incident waves4. 6EEE%
3<<<.
=.I> Y. *uJino and 5. gi&ura% 4- rectangular
$ara'ola rectenna with elli$tical 'ea& for s$s
test satellite e($eri&ent4% /roc. of t+e 6nstitute
of Electronics, 6nformation and .ommunication
Engineers1.).<2083A)
83<% 3<<G.
=.C> 6iuse$$ina :onti% 7uciano Terricone and
:ichele 8$artano% 4 L)'and $lanar rectenna4%
6EEE )ntenna and 5ireless /ropagation
"etters%
;ol..<%...E)...C%3<..
=.A> Tae)Whan Yoo and 5ai #hang% 4Theoretical
and e($eri&ental develo$&ent of .< and B@
6H? rectennas%4 6EEE 2ransactions on
7icrowave and 2ec+ni;ues, .G<.N.E.June..AA3
=3<> J.. :c8$adden% 7u *an and 5ai #hang%
4!esign and e($eri&ents of a high)conversion
efficiency @.C)6H? rectenna4% 6EEE
2ransactions on
7icrowave 2+eor! and 2ec+ni;ues% ;7. GE. N..3. 3<@B)3<E<% !ec.
.AAC
=3.> J. -. Hagerty% *. /. Hel&'recht and H.
:c#al$in% 4Recycling a&'ient &icrowave
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