Energy Harvesting from AM Broadcasting Radio Waves with High-Q Ferrite Rod Antenna and High-Efficiency Rectifier Designed Using Simple Equation-Based Model

The energy harvesting system, which consists of a high-Q ferrite rod antenna and a high-efficiency rectifier, was developed to efficiently harvest power from AM broadcasting radio waves. The rectifier and its impedance matching to the antenna were optimally designed using a newly proposed simple equation-based rectifier model. The system was tested in the field and demonstrated excellent performance, harvesting 1.25 μW of DC power at a distance of 6.35 km from an AM radio station transmitting 500 kW of radio waves at 774 kHz.