Antennas and circuits for ambient RF energy harvesting in wireless body area networks

In this paper, we identify the spectrum opportunities for radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting through power density measurements from 350 MHz to 3 GHz. The field trials have been performed in Covilhâ by using the NAKDA-SMR spectrum analyser with a measuring antenna. Based on the identification of the most promising opportunities, a dual-band band printed antenna operating at GSM bands (900/1800) is proposed, with gains of the order 1.8-2.06 dBi and efficiency 77.6-84%. Guidelines for the design of RF energy harvesting circuits and choice of textile materials for a wearable antenna are also discussed. Besides, we address the guidelines for designing circuits to harvest energy in a scenario where a wireless body area network (WBAN) is being sustained by a TX91501 Powercasf® RF dedicated transmitter and a five-stage Dickson voltage multiplier responsible for harvesting the RF energy. The IRIS motes, considered for our WBAN scenario, can perpetually operate if the RF received power attains at least -10 dBm.

Keywords

Antennas and Circuits Ambient RF Energy Harvesting Wireless Body Area Networks

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/15094

Citation

Norberto Barroca, Henrique M. Saraiva, Paulo T. Gouveia, Jorge Tavares, Luís M. Borges, Fernando J. Velez, Caroline Loss, Rita Salvado, Pedro Pinho, Ricardo Gonçalves, Nuno Borges Carvalho, Raúl Chavéz-Santiago and Ilangko Balasingham, “Antennas and Circuits for Ambient RF Energy Harvesting in Wireless Body Area Networks,” in Proc. of PIMRC 2013 – The 24th IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications, London, United Kingdom, Sep. 2013.