A new RF rectifier for energy harvesting with enhanced dynamic power range

This paper proposes a new RF rectifier with a dynamically extendable RF-DC power conversion (> 50%) range. Compared to typical rectifiers, the adopted power combining topology extends the dynamic efficient range by ~ 3 dB, while maintaining acceptable performance at low powers. A 1.84 GHz rectifier with the proposed topology is designed. A prototype of the designed rectifier is fabricated and tested. It is shown that the proposed rectifier maintains acceptable conversion efficiency over a power range extending from 2 dBm to 11 dBm. The performance of such rectifier is to be assessed using different antenna configurations dedicated to harvest RF and/or solar energy to power battery-less devices.