Research on super directional antennas for wireless power transmission

Abstract

Professor Atsushi Saito and Takehiro Sato, Saito Laboratory, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Japan, are working to advance the technology of wireless power transfer using microwaves. This could make it possible for electric vehicles to be charged wirelessly while driving, as well as for drones to be charged in flight. The research could also potentially benefit factories, eliminating the need for many complex wirings for factory equipment by introducing a wireless supply system. In their work, Saito and Sato are striving to advance the technology of wireless power transfer using microwaves and are currently applying superconducting technology to the transmitting antenna, which is filling a research gap. A central idea is to improve the directivity by narrowing down the radio waves and sending them only to the desired location. With support from Fuji Electric corporation, the researchers have designed and evaluated a microwave antenna that uses a high temperature superconductivity (HTS) thick disk as a patch antenna, enabling wireless transfer and obtaining a resonance frequency of 4.996 GHz. This has established the foundations for future work by confirming it is possible to design the desired HTS antenna.