Solar Cell Antenna Research Articles

Microwave wireless power transfer efficiency analysis framework for a thin film space solar power satellite

Space-based solar power systems (SSPS) envision the usage of focused microwave beams to transfer power from space to ground. To supply a large amount of power and to be able to focus a microwave beam efficiently, a large infrastructure must be assembled in orbit, thus, making the implementation of SSPS an arduous task. In the history of SSPS designs, aside from economical obstacles, technical obstacles such as large ohmic losses due to long DC lines in the structure, large rotary joints to decouple beam pointing and solar power collection, heating problems from power lines converging into a single point, and complex control mechanisms, manufacture, and assembly are present. A simpler implementation using multiple foldable thin film membrane satellite modules is proposed as a feasible design, born from the advancement of thin film electronics. Its economical feasibility is achieved through the reduced weight, large surface area, and membrane’s ability to be stowed. The thin film SSPS combines advantageous properties of past designs such as a simple structure, simple control mechanism, and a distributed power collection and transfer architecture avoiding the ohmic loss and heating problems. However, due to the thin film membrane hosting both the antenna and the solar cells, competition occurs between maximum solar power collection and high efficiency power transfer capabilities. In this paper, we propose a framework to analyze the performance of the thin film SSPS solar cell-antenna integration design in terms of the wireless power transfer efficiency and fuel consumption, from which we identified the trade-offs on designing and operating the station. We used this framework to analyze three different antenna element designs in combination with three different attitude control goals, and found out that the key aspects of the antenna design are beam width, radiation efficiency, and efficient solar cell integration.

Integrated of proximity-coupling high-order modes patch antenna with solar cells for sustainable communication

An integration of single-layer proximity-coupling patch antenna and solar cells with bandwidth enhancement and optical energy harvesting is proposed for sustainable communication. For this purpose, many dual-function components are selected for designing the miniaturized solar cell antenna. On the one hand, by greatly affecting the current flow of the rectangular patch, vias and proximity-coupling are introduced to control the resonance modes frequency and matching, respectively, for wideband application, and the radiation performance property can be achieved by high-order mode. On the other hand, vias and proximity-coupling are beneficial to complete direct-current (DC) loop of solar cell and improve compatibility of DC-RF (radio frequency), whereas a high-order mode is beneficial to increase the area of collected light energy. To prove the working principle, fabricated and manufactured solar cell antenna. The measured and simulated results illustrate that the solar cell antenna gain is raised to as high as 9.27 dBi in 4.37 to 5.06 GHz applied to fifth generation communication (5G).

A Wideband Ultra-Low-Profile Solar Cell–Integrated Antenna

In this paper, a wideband ultra-low-profile solar cell–integrated antenna with a high form factor is presented. A copper indium gallium selenide-based solar cell was used for the proposed design. The solar cell was cut with a rectangular-shaped narrow slit to construct a built-in solar cell antenna with dimensions of 50 mm × 20 mm × 0.571 mm (0.382λo × 0.152λo × 0.0043λo at 2.28 GHz). The slit area needed to achieve a high form factor was only 0.5 mm × 18 mm. A coaxial-to-microstrip-line transition type of feeding structure was used to excite the antenna. An RF decoupler circuit was also designed under the second substrate to maintain the independent functioning of both devices. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement. Furthermore, the proposed design demonstrated a –10 dB impedance bandwidth of 42.45% with an ultra-low-profile structure of 0.0043λo at 2.28 GHz, and the maximum gain was 2.84 dBi in the impedance bandwidth range. In addition, the antenna has a high form factor of 99.1%, with no optical blockage.

Codesign of Single-Layer Dual-Polarized Dual Compressed High-Order Modes Differentially Fed Patch Antenna and Solar Cells for Green Communication

A codesign dual-polarized patch antenna operating in dual compressed high-order modes and solar cells is proposed for green communication. The solar cell patch antenna is proposed for enhancing gain, wideband communication, and powering for wireless sensors. First, to enhance the gain of the antenna and the ability of optical energy harvesting, the antenna resonates at the high-order compressed modes. Second, the solar cell works in the direct-current loop, and the antenna works in the radio frequency loop separately. A differentially coupling-fed structure and two rows of vias are employed, which are beneficial to bandwidth and prevent the two loops from interfering with each other. Intrinsic isolation is achieved without any extra circuits. Next, a parametric study is exhibited as the antenna optimization guideline. By measuring the prototype experimentally performances, the design approach and the principle are validated. The measured results photoelectric experiment confirmed the ability of the solar cell antenna to convert luminous energy into electrical energy. In the desired operating band (4.8–5 GHz), the radiation performance of the proposed dual-polarized solar cell antenna is higher than 8.6 dBi for 5G communication.

A Broadband Dual-Polarized Solar Cell Phased Array Antenna

This study proposes a broadband dual-polarized solar cell phased array antenna. It is constructed by using crisscross distributed metal-meshed tie-shaped dipoles, an optical transparent glass substrate, feeding probes and ground probes, a solar cell, and a metal ground. The meshed tie-shaped dipoles are sputtered on the top surface of the glass substrate. Circular metal-meshed patches located at the crisscrossing points of the dipoles on the back surface of the glass substrate are introduced to extend the operational bandwidth of the solar cell antenna. The solar cell was placed on the ground of the antenna. We fabricated a sample of the solar cell antenna and measured the electromagnetic characteristics and its power output. The results of the measurements agreed with those of simulations. The proposed solar cell antenna array had a wide operational bandwidth of 2.5–5 GHz, a wide 2-D range of the phase scanning angle of ±45°, a high aperture efficiency of 68.9%–84.1%, and a high relative maximum output power ratio of 87.1% compared with a pure solar cell. It is scalable and can be used in a self-sustained 5G wireless communication system for sub-6 GHz applications.

Ultra-low profile solar-cell-integrated antenna with a high form factor

This paper presents an ultra-low-profile copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) based solar cell integrated antenna with a high form factor. A tiny slot was etched from the solar cell to develop an ultra-low-profile solar-cell-integrated antenna. This tiny slot increases the form factor due to the small clearance area from the solar cell. A ground-radiation antenna design method was applied in which lumped elements were employed inside the tiny slot for antenna operation. Another substrate was used under the solar cell for designing the feeding structure with lumped elements connected to the tiny slot using via holes. A prototype was fabricated and measured to verify the operation of a built-in solar-cell antenna and validate the simulated results. The measured results demonstrate that the solar-cell-integrated antenna covers the entire frequency range of the Industrial Scientific Medical band, from 2.4 to 2.5 GHz, with a maximum gain of 2.79 dBi and radiation efficiency higher than 80% within the impedance bandwidth range. Moreover, the proposed design has an ultra-low-profile structure of only 0.0046 λo, where λo represents the free space wavelength at 2.45 GHz, and a high form factor of 99.1% with no optical blockage. The antenna and solar cell were designed to avoid affecting the performance of each other using the radio-frequency decoupler.

Dual-Band Antenna Integrated With Solar Cells for WLAN Applications

A single-port dual-band antenna integrated with solar cells is reported for the 2.4/5-GHz wireless local area network (WLAN) applications. Thirty solar cells are adopted and integrated into the antenna structure for both energy harvesting and wireless communication. The solar cells can act as a director for the lower band, and the main radiation structure for the higher band. The slot and microstrip antennas are incorporated into the compact structure and multiple resonant modes are utilized for dual-band performance. The measurement results show that the lower band is from 2.27 to 2.5 GHz with an omnidirectional radiation pattern and the upper band is from 4.8 to 6.9 GHz with a directional radiation pattern. The proposed solar cell antenna can provide a dual-band performance with the ability of DC power generation, which can be a potential candidate for future green low-carbon communication.

Integration of Aperture-Coupled Multipoint Feed Patch Antenna With Solar Cells Operating at Dual Compressed High-Order Modes

This letter presents an aperture-coupled multipoint feed patch antenna integrated with solar cells capable of powering to low-power wireless sensors. Meanwhile, the solar cells as part of radiators are located at the top of the structure, improving design integration. Multipoint feed structure is employed for wideband performance. To verify the proposed solar cell antenna radiation performance and optical energy harvesting abilities, a prototype aperture-coupled multipoint feed solar cell antenna is fabricated and measured. The simulation and measurement results agree well with each other, thus, demonstrating that its total size of only 1.31 λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">0</sub> × 1.31 λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">0</sub> × 0.06 λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">0</sub> (λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">0</sub> is the free-space wavelength at the center frequency) and the antenna has achieved a stable gain varied from 9.47 to 10.85 dBi over the operating band of 4.8-5 GHz of 5G communication.

A high gain solar cell aperture‐coupled patch antenna based on substrate‐integrated suspended line platform for 5G application

AbstractThe aperture‐coupled patch antenna integrated with the amorphous silicon solar cell based on the substrate‐integrated suspended line platform is presented in this letter. The antenna patch on G1 layer is used as the cathode of amorphous silicon cell and the 1 × 2 array antenna is proposed based on the unit. The solar cell antenna operating from 4.67 to 5.17 GHz has the characteristic of high gain, which is achieved by air coupling to reduce loss. The gain of the unit and array is 9.21 and 11.92 dBi, respectively. In addition, the results of the antennas with and without solar cells are little different.

Design of a Compact Solar Cell Meshed Antenna for WLAN/WIMAX Application

Patch antenna is a low-profile antenna that has a number of advantages, low cost, light weight,easy to feed and their attractive radiation characteristics. For aWiMAX communication system, a microstrip patch antenna which operates at 2.76 GHz frequency band was presented in this work. The hybrid system solar cell antenna allows energy recovery as well as RF Transmission. A simulation process, withMATLAB, is used to determine the electrical power collected by the studied system as a photovoltaic cell. As a antenna, parameters such as gain, directivity, radiation pattern and radiated power were studied. Simulation results, showed a resonance frequency of the antenna at 2.76 GHz with an effective return loss of -18.64dB and a gain of 6.58dBi. Thereafter, an optical rectenna based on a solar cell antenna was proposed and studied.

A Wideband Dual-Function Solar Cell Dipole Antenna for Both Energy Harvesting and Wireless Communications

A dual-function solar cell antenna is presented for wideband communication and optical energy harvesting. In the proposed design, four solar cells have been adopted as antenna and energy harvesting array for both wireless communication and optical energy harvesting simultaneously. The radiation performances of the proposed solar cell antenna are measured and the optical experiment is conducted to verify its abilities of optical energy harvesting. To clarify the effects of solar cells on the antenna performance, another copper antenna with the same structure is fabricated for comparison. The proposed technology can integrate wireless communication and green battery components, makes it promising for green communication, clean energy, and environmental protection.

Leaf-shaped solar cell antenna for Energy Harvesting and RF Transmission in ku-band

Leaf-shaped solar cell antenna for Energy Harvesting and RF Transmission in ku-band

Antenna Performance Improvement Techniques for Energy Harvesting: A Review Study

The energy harvesting is defined as using energy that is available within the environment to increase the efficiency of any application. Moreover, this method is recognized as a useful way to break down the limitation of battery power for wireless devices. In this paper, several antenna designs of energy harvesting are introduced. The improved results are summarized as a 2×2 patch array antenna realizes improved efficiency by 3.9 times higher than the single patch antenna. The antenna has enhanced the bandwidth of 22.5 MHz after load two slots on the patch. The solar cell antenna is allowing harvesting energy during daylight. A couple of E-patches antennas have increased the bandwidth of 33% and the directivity up to 20 dBi. The received power can be improved by 1.2-1.4 times when using the dual port on pixel antenna. Complementary split ring resonator and substrate integrated waveguide are utilized cavity-backed feeding on a fractal patch antenna to enhance the bandwidth around 5.1%. Moreover, adding a rectifier circuit to an antenna converts the reserved RF-signal to DC power, and then duplicated the input voltage up to sum the total number of rectifier circuit stages. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of each antenna depend on the technique which used in design.

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Antenna

Dye-sensitized solar cells are proposed as a solar antenna in the form of a proof-of-concept dipole operating at 1.1 GHz. Comprised of glass plates in basic rectangular shapes, various material properties are considered for impact on antenna performance at three phases of assembly. Simulated and empirical analyses indicate how such low-cost solar cells can also realize viable concurrent antenna designs.

Circularly polarised solar antenna for airborne communication nodes

A circularly polarised solar cell antenna consisting of four sequentially rotated printed inverted-F antennas is proposed. Four multicrystalline silicon solar cells act as the ground plane and the antenna is suitable for low-power airborne communication nodes and wireless sensor networks. The antenna design was developed to allow 100% insolation of the cells when directly facing a light source. The low-profile antenna minimises shadowing of the solar cell for oblique angle insolation.

Location effect on gold nano bi-domes based absorption coefficient

Binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) algorithm was used to generate the binary gold nano bi-domes for getting higher absorption coefficient spectrum. The simulation results show that absorption coefficient strongly depends on the localized position of nano particles and non-periodic structures have more appropriate response in term of absorption coefficient. This approach can be useful in optical applications such as solar cell and plasmonic nano antenna.

Design of Antenna with a Solar Cell as a Parasitic Element in the UHF RFID Tag

This paper presents a novel RFID antenna which makes solar cell and tag antenna combine as an integrated unit. The solar cell is used as a parasitic element in a tag antenna. The original feature of a solar cell (DC current generation) remains, and the solar cell which can supply the energy to activate the IC is now used as a parasitic patch at the same time. Besides a general description of solar cell antenna, the size and the simulated results of the antenna are also shown.

A Pragmatic Approach to Space Communication

Examination of the fundamental limitations on modulation efficiency and present state-of-the-art practices in transmitter design, solar cell power sources, receiver design and antenna design shows that communication with large information rates is possible throughout the solar system but that practical interstellar communication is not now feasible. Two representative telemetry systems are discussed, the FM/PM analog Microlock system and the digital Telebit system.