IMPROVING POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCY OF RF ENERGY HARVESTING USING MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA ARRAY WITH TWO U-SHAPED METALLIC STRIPS

Abstract

The Radio Frequency (RF) energy harvesting has attracted research interest as a sustainable solution to power low-power electronic and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. However, the power conversion efficiency is limited by the performance of the antenna as it is the first block in RF energy harvesting. High conversion efficiency of the RF energy harvesting system demands the use of a high-gain antenna. The microstrip antennas available today are of lower gain, and this puts a big challenge for portable systems antennas. The work presented in this paper consists of the design of the 2 X 2 patch antenna array with a U-shaped metallic strip, and this antenna is verified for improvement in RF harvesting systems power conversion efficiency. This U-shaped metallic strip improves impedance matching, bandwidth, and gain The antenna and the entire RF energy harvesting module are simulated using Advanced Design System 2022. The parasitic elements formed due to two U-shaped metallic strips increase the antenna gain. The antenna attains a directivity of 11.39 dBi, a gain of 8.50 dBi, and a radiation efficiency of 51.33% under standard test condition. Incorporation of this antenna in the RF energy harvesting system resulted in improved power conversion efficiency of 89.31%.