A Dual-Polarized Omnidirectional Rectenna Array for RF Energy Harvesting.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Wireless Power Transfer

Background:

• Radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting is crucial for powering low-power electronic devices.
• Efficiently capturing and converting ambient RF energy across multiple polarizations remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a dual-polarized omnidirectional rectenna array for enhanced RF energy harvesting.
• To optimize antenna subarrays and power-combining networks for improved performance.

Main Methods:

• Designing dual omnidirectional antenna subarrays for horizontal and vertical polarizations.
• Implementing a hybrid power-combining scheme using Wilkinson power dividers and hybrid couplers.
• Utilizing a half-wave rectifying structure for efficient RF-to-DC conversion.

Main Results:

• A dual-polarized omnidirectional antenna array was successfully realized with minimized mutual influence between polarization subarrays.
• The integrated rectenna array demonstrated effective RF energy harvesting capabilities.
• Simulated and measured results showed strong agreement, validating the design's performance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed dual-polarized omnidirectional rectenna array offers a viable solution for RF energy harvesting applications.
• The hybrid power-combining scheme and optimized antenna design contribute to efficient energy capture.
• This technology has the potential to enable self-powered wireless devices.