Dual-band low-power RF-to-DC signal converter circuits for energy harvesting

• Published in: AIP advances Vol. 14; no. 7; pp. 075107 - 075107-13
• Main Authors: Mehta, Pavan, Nella, Anveshkumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 01.07.2024; AIP Publishing LLC
• Subjects: Circuit design; Circuits; Direct current; Energy conversion efficiency; Energy harvesting; Impedance matching; Load resistance; Microstrip transmission lines; Radio frequency; Voltage doublers
• ISSN: 2158-3226; 2158-3226
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0223367

This article presents dual-band low-power, high-sensitive radio-frequency (RF)-to-direct current (DC) signal converter circuits, operating at 2.45 and 5.5 GHz bands, for radio frequency energy harvesting applications. In particular, it focuses on the lumped element and microstrip transmission line model circuits. The lumped element RF-to-DC converter circuit is composed of a dual-band impedance matching circuit, voltage-doubler rectifier, and DC-pass filter with a resistive load of 5 kΩ. This converter circuit gives a DC output voltage of 48 mV at 2.45 GHz and 25 mV at 5.5 GHz on −25 dBm input power. Maximum conversion efficiency is 47% at the 2.45 GHz band and 27% at the 5.5 GHz band when the input power is set to −10 dBm. Circuit design steps, matching conditions, performance parameters, and so on, are presented using Advanced Design System simulation. To validate the concept of the lumped element model, a microstrip transmission line RF-to-DC converter model is simulated and fabricated. It also composes of a dual-band matching network, voltage-doubler, and DC-pass filter with a load resistance of 5 kΩ. At a low input power of −18 dBm, it gives an output voltage of 21 mV in measurement. An appropriate match between the simulation and measurement is noted.