RF ENERGY HARVESTING

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

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1.1 MOTIVATION

 The world is predicted to be run out of petroleum and natural gas on 2025. For this, the
scientists are working hard to find an alternate energy to overcome this becoming
problem. They are trying to find some sort of new alternative energy to decrease the
dependency on un-renewable energies. The high energy consumption nowadays also
concerns the scientists. The research shows that the world uses petroleum 100,000
times faster than they can form. The consequents of using petroleum and natural gas
are increasing the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and contribute to the
greenhouse effect to the earth.

 With renewable energies such as sunlight, radio frequencies, strong winds and flowing
water can reduce those problems. Radio frequencies nowadays are being implemented
almost on any new electronic devices. They have become abundant and could be found
almost anywhere. By converting this type of energy could hopefully create a new
source of alternative energy that is renewable and most importantly feasible.

 Recent advances in ultra-low power wireless communications and energy-harvesting

technologies have made self-sustainable devices feasible. Typically, the major concern
for these devices is battery life and replacement. Applying energy harvesting
techniques to these devices can significantly extend battery life and sometimes even
eliminate the need for a battery.

 There is plenty of energy available within the environment. The challenge is to harvest
or capture the energy and convert it into a usable format. Process by which energy is
derived from external sources like thermal energy, wind energy and kinetic energy,
captured and stored are called ‘Energy Harvesting’ or ‘Energy Scavenging’. Normally
this method is applied to small autonomous robot, wearable electronic devices and
wireless sensor networks.

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 Radio frequency (RF) radiation is a subset of electromagnetic radiation with a

wavelength of 100km to 1mm, which is a frequency of 3KHz to 300 GHz,
respectively. This range of electromagnetic radiation constitutes the radio spectrum
and corresponds to the frequency of alternating current electrical signals used to
produce and detect radio waves.

 RF can refer to electromagnetic oscillations in either electrical circuits or radiation

through air and space. Like other subsets of electromagnetic radiation, RF travels at the
speed of light.

 The reasons that this project focus on Radio Frequency Energy is that radio
frequencies itself are electric energy that transmits through the air by ionizing the
medium on its paths. The energy also can be easily found in our surrounding as it is
used widely by many applications like television broadcasting, telecommunication and
in microwave too. By using its availability, we are harvesting it and through a power
generating circuit linked to a receiving antenna this free flowing energy can be
captured and converted into usable DC voltage although only small amount of it can be
obtained.

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1.2 OBJECTIVE:

The aim of the work is to investigate the levels of power that can be harvested from
the air and processed to achieve levels of energy that are sufficient to charge up low-
power electronic circuits.

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT:

 Developing a system that can convert the radiating radio frequencies into direct
current or voltage and store it in a battery for further use..
 Also check if the harvested voltage can be utilized for low power application.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY

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2.1 SURVEY

 Due to the rapid technological improvement, power consumption of different

electronic devices has decreased, which led to the potential of introduction of energy
harvesters as the power source for low power consumption devices such as sensors.
Our focus will be in harvesting the electromagnetic energy specifically Radio
Frequency (RF). It is now a topic which is receiving a considerable level of interest in
view of the requirement to have "green" sources of energy.

 Ambient energy in the form of man-made electromagnetic radiation is abundant

regardless of the system's location (i.e. indoor or outdoor system) or time of day [1].
In contrast, systems that rely on thermal gradients or solar power might have special
location considerations.

 Major communication and broadcasting systems are serviced in the frequency bands
between 75 MHz to 3.0 GHz, including TV, Wi-Fi, Radar or GSM [2].
Communication devices generally have omni-directional antennas that will propagate
RF energy in all directions. Even though RF signals carry low energy, the power that
can be received from them could be high enough to run a low power sensor or a low
power circuit.

 Radio waves which are part of the electromagnetic spectrum consists of magnetic and
electric components. They carry information by varying a combination of the
amplitude, frequency and phase of the wave within a frequency band. On contact with
a conductor such as an antenna, the EM radiation induces electrical current on the
conductor’s surface.

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Fig 2.1: Examples of different radiating sources

 High frequency signals power is limited by regulations due to safety and health
concerns offered by electromagnetic waves. Therefore there will not be enough power
for triggering active elements. Passive elements will be used to minimize the amount
of power being consumed by these elements to achieve a circuit that can be adapted to
harvest RF signals.

 In order to provide the maximum capturing power, the transmitting and the receiving
antennas should be of the same shape, size and polarization.

 Currently, energy harvesters do not provide sufficient amount of power to produce

Mechanical movements or temperature changes (cooks, refrigerators, etc) because
there aren’t technologies that capture energy with great efficiency. But these
technologies do provide the amount of energy needed for low-power devices that can
operate autonomously.

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 Another advantage of this type of technology is that, unlike the production of large-
scale power, we can consider that the energy source is free if you take into account
the electromagnetic energy of transmitting mobile stations and radio and TV
broadcasting antennas.

 The use of batteries has two disadvantages: the lifetime of the batteries is very limited
even for low-power batteries, requiring impractical periodical battery replacement, the
use of commercial batteries usually overkills the power requirements for uW sensor
nodes, adding size and weight while creating the problem of environmental pollution
due to the deposition of these batteries, as well as increases significantly the cost
overhead of disposable nodes.

Fig 2.2: Long Term issue of Batteries

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2.2 RESEARCH:

 Recently, a research group at Sultan Qaboos University developed a system which

could harvest a maximum of 76.3mV at 869MHz with a load resistance of 33MΩ[3].

Fig 2.3: PCB of 7 stage Voltage pump

 Harist etal (2004) attempted to charge mobile phone batteries by capturing RF energy
at 915MHz. 4mV/second charging time was observed[4].

Fig 2.4: Set up of wireless mobile battery charging

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 An experimental RF Energy Harvesting system is developed to harvest energy from

cell towers by a group of Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Powai. They have obtained a voltage of 2.78V at 10m from the cell tower and a
voltage of 0.87V at a distance of 50m. This experiment has been carried out within a
frequency range of 877MHz to 998MHz[5].

Fig 2.5: Experimental setup for Rectenna measurement at 10m from cell tower

 Intel Activity: The Intel Researchers setup a TV antenna on a balcony with line of
sight to the KING-TV tower 4.1 km away. The TV station broadcasts on channel 48
between 674 and 680 MHz with an effective radiation power of 960Kw. The TV
antenna used was a UHF Log Periodic with 5 dBi gain connected to a 4 stage charge
pump power harvesting circuit. Across an 8 Kohm load, the team measured 0.7V
corresponding to 60 microwatts of power harvested. They used the harvested energy
to power a mini weather meter [6].

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Fig 2.6: Setup of the TV antenna

2.3 PRESENT SCENARIO:

 Nokia LUMIA phone has the facility of wireless charging. It is inductive charging
method. In this, the charging pad and the mobile has the coils. When the current is
passed through the charging pad coil, it creates magnetic field and if the phone is in
the range of charging pad coil magnetic field, the current is induced in mobile coil and
mobile charges. This is very nice application of wireless charging but limited to
shorter distance [7].

 Samsung GALAXY S3 wireless charging: The method used is 'inductive charging'. It

utilizes two smart coils - one in the charger and another in the device that is getting
charged. The primary coil creates a very small electromagnetic field around the
charger through which electricity can be transferred. The secondary coil, which is in
the phone, receives the power from electromagnetic field and converts it back into
electric current to feed it into the battery [8].

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 Intel (INTC) is trying to make sure that Smartphone users never have to worry about
misplacing their chargers. Intel plans on unleashing its wireless charging
technology in the second half of 2013 by implementing it on Intel-based smartphones
and ultra-books. The Intel charging technology “uses an ultra book as the power
source paired with related software and a transmitter to wirelessly charge a
Smartphone” and “will feature lower power consumption and does not require the
phone to be put in a very specific position” [9].

 QUALCOMM Halo wireless electric vehicle charging: Qualcomm is among those

putting wireless charging platforms through ‘real-world tests’ to prove the
technology. The company has been trialling its Qualcomm Halo Wireless Electric
Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology in London with a fleet of 50 vehicles.
Basically they use a copper coil in a pad on the ground under the car and a second pad
on the vehicle. Using the magnetic field, they transfer energy from the ground based
pad to the vehicle based pad. For the London trial, Qualcomm has been working with
Charge master, a charging station specialist with several installations in both private
and public areas across the city. The London run has not yet provided the company
with enough data to make a definite diagnosis of how the technology stack-up in a
real-world scenario, but cars coming off the production line of a major automaker in
2015 or 2016 could be enabled for wireless charging.

Fig 2.7: Inductive charging via charge master

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 Electric Buses Test Wireless charging in Germany: The project, part of Bombardier’s
trial of their PRIMOVE inductive charging technology, is designed to demonstrate
that an electric bus can operate a demanding passenger route without stopping to
recharge. The secret is inductive charging, which uses a charging pad buried under the
road’s surface to send energy to the bus batteries when the two are magnetically
“tuned”. In the case of the PRIMOVE system in use in Mannheim, the charging pads
are only switched on when a vehicle passes above.

Because the bus is on a fixed route, induction charging makes quite a bit of
sense. Since charging pads will be installed at stops along the route that the 63 bus in
Mannheim takes, it will be able to run without interruption and charge while it’s
picking up passengers.

It’s a concept called “opportunity charging” – topping off the battery

whenever there’s a chance to do so, rather than parking in a depot for an overnight
charge or swapping out batteries, which might lead to delays or schedule adjustments.
In the case of PRIMOVE, it also means that batteries can be smaller, since they
won’t have to hold enough charge for an entire trip and that also maximizes
passenger space.

Fig 2.8: Electric Bus Wireless Charging in Germany

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CHAPTER3
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

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3.1 SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS : The system specifications for transmitter and receiver
Sections are-

3.1.1 Transmitter Section:

Marconi Instruments.
RF generator with frequency range: 9 KHz to 2.4 GHz
Maximum output power level: 25dBm

3.1.2 Receiver Section:

1) Micro strip antenna:
i. Center Frequency: 1.44GHz
ii. VSWR: 1.5906
iii. Impedance: 60Ω
2) Monopole Antenna:
i. Center Frequency: 2.6GHz
ii. VSWR: 1.67
iii. Impedance: 58Ω
3) Simple wire Antenna
4) Impedance Matching: To transfer maximum power from transmitter to receiver,
we have used RLC series circuit, where
Resistor, R = 50Ω
Inductor, L = 5nH
Capacitor, C = 1pF
5) Voltage Multiplier: It is used to rectify and boost the dc signal.
i. Diodes: 1N64 [11], SMS7630[12].
ii. Capacitor: 6.8 pF, 0.47 uF, 10pF.
iii. Load Resistance: 1 MΩ
6) Spectrum Analyzer: LG, SA-9270A, 9 KHz to 2.9 GHz

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3.2 SYSTEM OVERVIEW:

The pictorial representation of RF energy Harvesting System is as shown in figure

3.1. It consists of RF power generator, receiving Antenna, matching circuit, rectifier
and storage battery.

Receiving
Antenna
RF
Power
Generator

Rectifier

Matching
Multipli Circuit
er

Figure 3.1: Energy Harvesting System Overview

The main target is the use of passive components in order to improve system
efficiency. The size of the energy scavenger (harvester) in terms of number of
targeted frequency ranges is another important point.

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The input voltage to the harvester should be high enough to make the
Germanium and Schottky diodes forward biased. The input voltage to the harvester
can be calculated by

V = √(P x Z)
where V: input voltage,
P: input power,
Z: line impedance (50 Ω for this system).

3.3 BLOCK DIAGRAM: The block Diagram of Energy Harvesting System with
Transmitter and Receiving section is as shown in figure 3.2 and 3.3 respectively.

Figure 3.2: Transmitter Section

Figure 3.3: Receiver Section

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3.4 BLOCK DIAGRAM DESCRIPTION:

1) Antenna:
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electrical power into Radio
waves. For our system, we require to extract maximum power from the transmitter.
So, we have decided to design such an antenna which can have maximum Directivity
and gain.

We have designed two antennas-

i. Rectangular patch antenna at 900MHz.
ii. Monopole Antenna at 2.25GHz.

a] Micro strip Patch Antenna:

A patch antenna is a narrowband, wide-beam antenna fabricated by
etching the antenna element pattern in metal trace bonded to an insulating dielectric
substrate, such as a printed circuit board, with a continuous metal layer bonded to the
opposite side of the substrate which forms a ground plane. Microstrip antennas are
relatively inexpensive. They are usually employed at UHF and higher frequencies
because the size of the antenna is directly tied to the wavelength at the resonant
frequency. It is relatively easy to print an array of patches on a single (large) substrate
for higher gain.

b] Monopole Antenna:
A monopole antenna is a class of radio antenna consisting of a straight
rod-shaped conductor, often mounted perpendicularly over some type of conductive
surface, called a ground plane. The driving signal from the transmitter is applied, or
for receiving antennas the output voltage is taken, between the lower end of the
monopole and the ground plane. One side of the antenna feedline is attached to the
lower end of the monopole, and the other side is attached to the ground plane, which
is often the Earth.

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If the ground plane is large enough, the radio waves reflected from the ground
plane will seem to come from an image antenna forming the missing half of the
dipole, which adds to the direct radiation to form a dipole radiation pattern. So the
pattern of a monopole with a perfectly conducting, infinite ground plane is identical to
the top half of a dipole pattern, with its maximum radiation in the horizontal direction,
perpendicular to the antenna.

Because it radiates only into the space above the ground plane, or half the
space of a dipole antenna, a monopole antenna will have a gain of twice (3 dBi over)
the gain of a similar dipole antenna, and a radiation resistance half that of a dipole.
Thus a quarter-wave monopole, the most common type, will have a gain of 5.19 dBi
and a radiation resistance of about 36.8 ohms if it is mounted above a good ground
plane.

2) Impedance Matching Circuit:

As an electro-magnetic wave travels through the different parts of the antenna
system (radio, feed line, antenna, and free space) it may encounter differences in
impedance (E/H, V/I, etc.). At each interface, depending on the impedance match,
some fraction of the wave's energy will reflect back to the source, forming a standing
wave in the feed line. The ratio of maximum power to minimum power in the wave
can be measured and is called the standing wave ratio (SWR). Minimizing impedance
differences at each interface (impedance matching) will reduce SWR and maximize
power transfer through each part of the antenna system.
As we are dealing with a range of frequencies, we require such a circuit which
can maintain the impedance constant throughout the frequency range. For that
purpose, we have designed –
iv. i. RLC Series circuit at resonant frequency 2.25GHz.
v. ii. M derived Band pass filter having Bandwidth ranging from 500Mhz –
900MHz [10].

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3) Voltage Multiplier:
Voltage multipliers are used to generate bias voltages of a few volts or tens of
volts for purposes such as lightning safety testing. The most common type of
voltage multiplier is the half-wave series multiplier, also called the Villard
cascade. For this system, a Villard voltage multiplier is going to be used to boost up
the received signal.

Fig 3.4: Villard Voltage Multiplier

The output voltage that can be produced by an n-stage Villard cascade is

2n and by selecting appropriate number of stages, any higher output voltages can be
obtained. However, if the output current increases, there will be a voltage drop across
the capacitors due to alternating current which results in a lower input voltage for the
succeeding stages. The formula for this voltage drop is given by

where ∆U: voltage drop,

I: output current,
f: input frequency,
C: capacitance,
n: number of stages.

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As can be seen from the above equation, the voltage drop increases if the
output current increases or input frequency and capacitance decrease. For the case
where there is no control over the input frequency, the value of the capacitors should
be selected properly. The ripples of the output of Villard multiplier can be found by

The number of stages cannot be increased to any number. There are two main
constraints. The first one is the decrease in the output current due to increase of the
output voltage. The second issue is the restriction on the output voltage ripple. To find
the most appropriate number of stages several simulations were run.
As we are dealing with very high frequency range, the components used i.e
diodes and capacitors should work at such a high frequency and very low amplitude
(mV) signals.
Hence, we have found 1N64[11] Germanium diode which has a dropout
voltage of 0.2V and SMS7630[12] Silicon Schottky diode which has a dropout
voltage of 0.13V and operates in a frequency range of few GHz.

4) Storage Battery:
Often harvested power sources may not produce an even supply of power.
Unfortunately many loads need a constant supply of electricity otherwise they may
cease to function when they are needed.
In order to overcome this, power needs to be stored. There are a number of
alternatives that may be used for power storage dependent upon the application /
power requirement.
Rechargeable batteries are able to store much higher levels of charge. They
could be used to provide higher levels of power and over longer periods of time. They
could be recharged when the harvested power source becomes available again.

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3.5 COMPLEXITIES INVOLVED:

 Component Availability: Component of desired value should be available in the

market so as to get the proper result. The major task is to check whether the
components are available before going for specific approach. Components or the IC’s
should meet the certain specifications or the specifications should be in limit of
tolerance.
As we are working at high frequency, the inductors and capacitors of such
values are not readily available.

 Minimize Losses: This is yet another important task. There many types of losses
involved in RF communication system.

1) Wire loss (Skin Effect) – It is the tendency of alternating current to

become distributed within the conductor. The skin effect causes the
effective resistance of the conductor to increase at higher frequencies.
2) Mismatch loss– It results due to the improper matching in impedance of
two consecutive stages which forms Standing Waves and loss of power.
3) Radio path loss–It is reduction in Power Density of an Electromagnetic
wave as it propagates through space.

Some of them are avoidable while some cannot be avoided as they are present
everywhere.

 Interdependence: It is very important criteria. Input to the every stage is from the
output of previous stage. So the performance of each stage is interdependent. If there
are some fluctuations or working problem then overall performance may reduce.

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CHAPTER4
SYSTEM DESIGN

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4.1 ANTENNA:
i. Monopole Antenna: The RG 142 cable of Impedance 50Ω has been utilized to
form the Monopole antenna. For better conductivity, a layer of solder is formed on
the metal conductor.
Following are the details of antenna observed on Network Analyzer -

Centre frequency, f = 2.6GHz

VSWR= 1.67
Reflection coefficient= -7.8dB
Impedance, Z= 56Ω

Fig 4.1: Monopole Antenna

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ii. Rectangular Patch Antenna:

The design of patch antenna has been carried out in PCAAD software. It is
designed at 866MHz. The dimensions of antenna are obtained by hit and trial
method.

Fig 4.2: Snapshot of Antenna design in PCAAD

The material used for patch is RT Duroid. Its details are given as input in the design.

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Fig 4.3: Details of Dielectric Constant and Impedance

The fabricated patch antenna is shown in fig 4.4. It resonates at a frequency 1.44GHz.

Fig 4.4: Rectangular Patch Antenna

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4.2 IMPEDANCE MATCHING CIRCUIT:

To maintain a constant impedance over a frequency range of 500MHz to 900MHz, we
have designed:
i) m derived bandpass filter -
Consider,
f1 =436 MHz
f2 =483 MHz
R= 50Ω

Resonant frequency:
fo=
= 459 MHz

The factor m is selected to be, m = 0.6

Components value-

C1=

= 0.36 pF

L1 =

= 0.33 uH

C2 = L1/R2
= 2 pF

L2 = C1.R2
= 0.6 uH

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For m derived bandpass filter, the component values are-

mL1/2 = 100 nH

2C1/m = 1.2 pF

L1 = 1 uH

C1 = 3.3 pF

L2 / m = 1 uH

C2 m = 1.2 pF

Figure 4.5: m derived Band pass filter

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ii) Series RLC circuit: To get maximum power transfer from transmitter to receiver section at
2.25GHz, the design of series RLC is as follows-
Characteristic Impedance, Zo = 50Ω
Resonant frequency, fo = 2.25GHz
It is given by –
fo =
Consider, C = 1pF
L = 5nH

Fig 4.6: Series RLC circuit diagram

4.3 VOLTAGE MULTIPLIER:

The output of matching circuit at the receiver section is in few mV range.
In order to make this voltage suitable for any low power application, we have to
increase the amplitude of signal. This can be achieved using following circuit-

Fig 4.7— Voltage Multiplier

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CHAPTER 5
SIMULATION

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The m derived Band pass Filter, series RLC circuit for impedance matching and voltage
Multiplier to boost the voltage as discussed in previous chapter are designed and simulated
using Multisim 11.0 and Advanced Design System (ADS) 2009. The simulated results are
presented in this chapter.

5.1 m derived band pass filter for Impedance Matching:

The designed band pass Filter for the frequency range 400MHz – 900MHz is as
shown in figure 5.1 and its frequency response is shown in figure 5.2.

Circuit Simulation:

Fig 5.1 Simulation of m derived band pass filter

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Fig 5.2 — Frequency Response of m derived bandpass filter

Frequency Response Table:

Table 5.1: Frequency Response of m derived band pass filter

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5.2 RLC series circuit for Impedance matching:

This circuit is designed at a resonant frequency of 2.25GHz. The simulation is shown
in Fig 5.3 and the frequency response is shown in Fig 5.4.

Circuit Simulation:

Fig 5.3 Simulation of RLC series circuit

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Frequency Response:

Fig 5.4 Frequency Response of series RLC circuit

Table 5.2: Frequency response of series RLC circuit

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The results obtained from frequency response clearly indicates that from all
the voltages obtained across resistor, capacitor, Inductor; the voltage across capacitor
(V3) has the higher magnitude and better response.

5.3 VOLTAGE MULTIPLIER:

To verify the circuit’s working, we have simulated a 3-stage voltage Multiplier
on multisim which works on 100MHz. Germanium diode 1N6478 and capacitors of
value 0.1uF which give better rise time are used.

Figure 5.5: Simulation of 3 stage Voltage Multiplier

Here, the input provided i.e V1rms=707 mV.

As the Multiplier elevates the DC level of input signal, at the output we got
V2DC = 3.09 V.

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CHAPTER 6
PCB DESIGN

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We have used Orcad, Diptrace, Cadence Allegro to design the PCB. The schematic
and layout of RLC series, m derived bandpass filter, voltage Multiplier are shown in this
chapter.

6.1 Series RLC:

Fig 6.1: Schematic of Series RLC

The schematic of Series RLC is shown in Fig 6.1. The arrangement for both the leaded and
SM components is made in this PCB. A junction across each component is provided such that
any component which gives a maximum voltage drop can be used to provide supply to the
voltage Multiplier.

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6.2 Voltage Multiplier:

Fig 6.2: Schematic of Voltage Multiplier

The design of voltage Multiplier is split into two stages. Each stage consists of a 2
stage voltage Multiplier. Both of them combinely form a quadruple. This provision is made
because if we get the desired output only after a single 2 stage Multiplier, we will not use the
next stage, else the output of 1st stage i.e. J4 will be connected to the input of 2nd stage i.e. J5.

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Layout of Series RLC and Voltage Multiplier:

Fig 6.3: Top side of Layout of Series RLC and Multiplier

Fig 6.4: Bottom side of layout of series RLC and Multiplier

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In the above schematic of Voltage Multiplier, the provision for taking the output is
not given correctly. So, we have designed one more voltage Multiplier with different
configuration. It is designed in Diptrace. The schematic and layout are shown below-

Fig 6.5: Schematic of Voltage Multiplier

Fig 6.6: Layout of Voltage Multiplier

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RESULTS

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7.1 Results obtained from series RLC:

i. Monopole Antenna used at the receiver: Antenna at 2.25 GHz frequency connected to
series RLC circuit and output taken across the capacitor. AC voltage of 1.361V is
observed at the output.

Fig 7.1: Output across capacitor using Monopole Antenna

ii. Array of Microstrip Antenna used at receiver: Antenna Array at 2.25 GHz
resonating frequency is connected to Series RLC circuit. The output is measured
across the capacitor. AC voltage of 1.024V is obtained at the output.

Fig 7.2: Output across capacitor using Micro strip Antenna Array

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7.2 Testing of Voltage Multiplier:

A 4-stage voltage Multiplier is tested at input frequency of 100MHz. Germanium
diodes of a dropout voltage 0.2 V are used for rectification. Storage capacitors of value 0.1uF
are used. A DC voltage of 6.06 V is obtained at the output.

Output of 1st stage:

Fig 7.3: Output across 1st stage of Voltage Multiplier

Output of 2nd stage:

Fig 7.4: Output across 2nd stage of Voltage Multiplier

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Output of 3rd stage:

Fig 7.5: Output across 3rd stage of Voltage Multiplier

Output of 4th stage:

Fig 7.6: Output across 4th stage of Voltage Multiplier

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7.3 RF Energy Transfer at 450 MHz using m-derived filter:

This setup includes RF generator connected to m-derived band pass filter, and the
output of band pass filter is given to the 3-stage voltage multiplier. The diodes used here are
SMS7630 with a very low dropout voltage of 0.13V.

RF Generator used at 450 MHz:

Fig 7.7: RF generator (Marconi Instruments)

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Frequency Response of RF Generator observed on Spectrum Analyzer:

Fig 7.8: Response of RF Generator on Spectrum Analyzer

Practical setup for RF Energy Transfer:

Fig 7.9: Practical Setup

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The 3-stage voltage multiplier with 10pF capacitor is tested at 900MHz. The results
are shown below.

Output of 1st Stage of Voltage Multiplier:

Fig 7.10: Output of 1st stage of multiplier

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Output of 2nd Stage of Voltage Multiplier:

Fig 7.11: Output of 2nd stage of multiplier

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Output of 3rd Stage of Voltage Multiplier:

Fig 7.12: Output of 3rd stage of multiplier

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7.4 Result Tables:

7.4.1 Frequency response of m-derived band pass filter:

The response is observed on spectrum analyzer with input power level of 24.9 dBm
given from Marconi Instruments RF generator.

Frequency (MHz) Output voltage (mV)

300 170
400 235
450 365
500 122
550 100
600 120

Table 7.1: Response of m-derived band pass filter

7.4.2 Output of Voltage Multiplier on each stage:

The DC output is observed on Multimeter Yokogawa TY710 by giving input from m-
derived filter operating at 450 MHz.

Stage O/P Voltage O/P Current

(V) (uA)
1st 0.7928 1.25
2nd 1.5218 1.75
3rd 2.7769 2.20

Table 7.2: Output of Voltage Multiplier

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CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

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This report presents the design of RF Energy Harvesting System. The potential
utilization of RF signals for DC power is experimentally investigated. Several steps are taken
to achieve this methodology. A thorough study of various topologies of Impedance Matching,
Antennas, Voltage Multipliers have been discussed. Based on that, we have chosen effective
topology for each block.
As a result of this overview, m derived Bandpass filter is designed to give a constant
impedance over the selected frequency range and Series RLC is choosen for one particular
frequency. The Microstrip Antenna having gain 7dB to 9 dB for a square patch and an omni –
directional monopole antenna suits our requirement.
Based on measurements and simulations, it can be concluded that it is possible to use
radiated, off-air RF signals as a source for energy harvesting. Even though the output powers
of such harvester are expectedly relatively low, it can be sufficient for running low
consumption sensors and switches.
Improvements on efficiency of the RF signal harvesting is important. This will enable
more current to be re-cycled and operate low-power circuits. The possibility of using this
harvester in energizing sensor networks appears to be the most practical use at the moment.
Finally, we have presented a new technology that can revolutionize the way we
charge our numerous mobile devices. It helps portability of devices without carrying chargers
around.
This system design can be used for following applications-

1) Environmental/Pollution sensor:
Battery Free
Powered by nearby Mobile phones
Activates when sufficient energy is stored
2) Remote Activation:
Avoid continuous Broadcast
Activate on Demand

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3) Building Automation/Zone control:

No construction
No wiring
Room-by-Room control

Fig 8.1 – Temperature Sensor

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CHAPTER 9
REFERENCES

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[1] Buananno, M. D'Urso and D. Pavone, “An Ultra Wide-Band System for RF Energy
Harvesting”, IEEE Journal of Antennas and Propagation (EUCAP), Proc. 5th European
Conf. , p. 388, 2011.

[2] M. M. Tentzeris and Y. Kawahara, "Novel Energy Harvesting Technologies for ICT
Applications", IEEE journal of Applications and the Internet, SAINT 2008, International
Symposium, p. 373, 2008.

[3] Maryam Al-lawati, Manar Al-Busaidi, Zia Nadir, “RF Energy Harvesting System
Design For Wireless Sensors”, IEEE Journal, 9th International Multi-Conference on Systems,
2012.

[4] Daniel W. Harrist, “Wireless Battery Charging System Using Radio Frequency
Energy Harvesting”, University of Pittsburgh, 2001.

[5] Mahima Arrawaita, Maryam Shojaei Baghini, Girish kumar, “RF Energy Harvesting
Systems From Cell Towers in 900 MHz Band”, IEEE Journal.

[6] Alessandra Costanzo,“Antennas and Circuits for RF Energy scavenging”, Bologna,

5th February, 2010.

[7] http://www.nokia.com/global/products/wireless-charging/

[8] http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-
0505/computing/31586090_1_charger-pixi-device.

[9] http://blogs.intel.com/technology/2012/08/wireless-charging-technology-
%E2%80%93-one-step-closer-to-reality/

[10] D Roy Choudhury, “Network & Systems”, pg – 582.

[11] Datasheet of 1N64.

[12] Datasheet of SMS7630.

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APPENDIX

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