Abstract
This work studies the performance of two methods for providing power to an ultra-low power, ambient backscatter tag, omitting the need for any battery. RF energy harvesting from a dedicated source and energy harvesting from ambient light using a single photodiode are compared. Extensive measurement results from tests conducted under real world conditions are offered for both harvesting methods. It is concluded that for a total cost of under 7 Euros the need for a battery can be eliminated, by using a single photodiode element along with a suitable boost converter. The ultra-low power character of the utilized tag enables the use of multiple harvesting methods and paves the way towards truly battery-less wireless sensor systems.
Highlights
Due to the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) revolution, more and more devices and “things”are expected to communicate with each other
When considering wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which by definition constitute a large portion of the IoT architecture, ultra-low power consumption is of vital importance
Backscatter radio is a promising solution for the communication aspect of modern WSNs [1]
Summary
Due to the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) revolution, more and more devices and “things”. Utilizing backscatter techniques for achieving communication, requires a RF switch alternating the loads which terminate the sensor’s antenna; illumination of the sensor is needed from a dedicated ([2,3,4,5]) or a lready-modulated, i.e., ambient (FM [6,7], DTV [8]) RF source. Replacing active components such as power amplifiers, mixers, oscillators and filters with a simple RF switch, offers tremendous reduction in power consumption. It is found that a single photodiode can perform sufficiently
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