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An orientation-independent UHF rectenna array with a unified matching and decoupling RF network

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2019

M. Fantuzzi ,
G. Paolini ,
M. Shanawani ,
A. Costanzo  and
D. Masotti Open the ORCID record for D. Masotti [Opens in a new window]
M. Fantuzzi
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “G. Marconi”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
G. Paolini
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “G. Marconi”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
M. Shanawani
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “G. Marconi”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
A. Costanzo
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “G. Marconi”, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
D. Masotti*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “G. Marconi”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
*
Author for correspondence: D. Masotti, E-mail: diego.masotti@unibo.it
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Abstract

This work describes the design of a rectenna array exploiting orthogonal, closely-spaced UHF monopoles for orientation-independent RF energy harvesting to energize a passive tag, designed for UWB localization, with wake-up radio (WUR) capabilities. To reach this goal, different RF networks are studied to simultaneously realize RF decoupling of the antenna elements and matching of the radiating elements to the non-linear network of rectifiers. The design is performed for a wide power range of the RF incoming signals that need to be exploited for both energizing the passive tag and for providing energy autonomy to a WUR sub-system, used to minimize the long-term power consumption during tag standby operations. Two meandered cross-polarized monopoles, located in close proximity, and thus highly coupled, are adopted for orientation-insensitive operations. The combining RF network is reactive and includes an unbalanced power divider to draw a fraction of the harvested energy to a secondary way for WUR operations. The performance of the harvester is first optimized by EM/non-linear co-design of the whole system over an interval of low RF power levels. The system has been realized and experimentally validated: the superior results obtained, in terms of both dc voltage and power, with respect to a standard single-monopole rectenna, justify the deployment of the presented tag for the energy autonomy of future generation radio-frequency identification tags for indoor localization.

Keywords

RFID and sensorswireless power transfer and energy harvesting
Type
Research Papers
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , Volume 11 , Special Issue 5-6: EuMW 2018 Special Issue (Part I) , June 2019 , pp. 490 - 500
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the European Microwave Association 2019 

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