Design Method for RF Energy Harvesting Rectifiers

Abstract

This brief presents a methodology to design RF energy harvesting rectifiers that produce a system with higher efficiency when compared to traditionally optimized circuits. The proposed methodology uses a dual-perspective approach, exploiting the designer’s knowledge of the rectifier’s operation, as a qualitative evaluation, and the precise results obtained by SPICE simulation as quantitative computation of the system’s response. The compromises considered by the mathematical steady state models in the existing literature limit their practical use for manual calculations. Instead, nonlinear steady state simulation methods, such as harmonic balance, provide a much better design tool. The proposed method improves the efficiency of rectifiers by up to 27% with respect to arbitrary initial conditions.