Design Method of Self-Driving RF-DC Rectifier Based on Waveform-Guided Solutions to Passive Matching Network

The design of a self-driving RF-DC rectifier needs to synchronize the gate driving and RF power input. A waveform-based design method is proposed in this paper to get this synchronization through a direct network-parameter calculation of the coupling and matching circuit, other than introducing an adjustable phase shifter on its dual power amplifier prototype. In order to get a practical design at microwave band, nonlinear feedback capacitances, package parasitics, and device's I-V curves are considered in the large-signal RF-DC rectifier circuit analysis. The external passive matching network characterized by its Z-parameters can be determined in order to realize a specific high-efficiency operation mode, which is quantified by waveform distance. An RF-DC class-E rectifier example at 2.8 GHz is given to demonstrate this design method based on a modified GaN device model including negative drain voltages. Rectification efficiency of 70.8% is measured for a 10 W input power at 2.8 GHz.