Improving Temperature Stability of Dickson Charge Pump Rectifiers for Battery-Free Wireless Sensing Applications

Temperature stability is critical for microwave circuits and systems that experience significant temperature variations throughout the year in the real world. This work proposes a multi-stage Dickson charge pump (DCP) rectifier with improved temperature stability. A suitable Schottky diode, SMS7621, is identified for rectifier design with the help of theoretical analysis. The mismatch between diode junction resistance and load resistance resulting in rectification performance degradation related to temperature change is highlighted. Experimental results confirm that this proposed DCP rectifier can offer a stable dc output voltage higher than 3.2 V when the radiofrequency input is −8 dBm in a wide temperature range of −40 ºC to +60 ºC, which is good for energizing a commercial wireless sensor platform as shown in the experimental demonstration.