A high gain PI-shaped rectenna for ambient RF energy harvesting at 2.4 GHz with matching network elimination

This work comprises a detailed procedure for matching network elimination in an RF energy harvesting system. A new Pi-shaped rectenna is designed to directly match the complex input impedance of the rectifier and is used to validate the presented method. The antenna is designed using inductive-coupled feeding and operates at 2.4 GHz. It is optimized for an input power of −10dBm. Results indicate a high gain of 3.7 dBi and the peak power conversion efficiency is approximately 20% for an input power of − 20dBm.