A 2.4 GHz High-Efficiency Rectifier Circuit for Ambient Low Electromagnetic Power Harvesting

A novel 2.4 GHz high-efficiency rectifier circuit suitable for working under very-low-input electromagnetic (EM) power conditions (-20 to -10 dBm) is proposed for typical indoor power harvesting. The circuit features a SMS7630 Schottky diode in a series with a voltage booster circuit at the front end and a direct-current (DC)-pass filter at the back end. The voltage booster circuit consists of an asymmetric coupled transmission line (CTL) and a high-impedance microstrip line (of 100 Ω instead of 50 Ω) to significantly increase the potential at the diode's input, thereby enabling the diode to operate effectively even in very-low-power environments. The experimental measurements show that the microwave direct-current (MW-DC) conversion efficiency of the rectifier circuit reaches 31.1% at a -20 dBm input power and 62.4% at a -10 dBm input power, representing a 7.4% improvement compared to that of the state of the art. Furthermore, the rectifier circuit successfully shifts the input power level corresponding to the peak rectification efficiency from 0 dBm down to -10 dBm. This design is a promising candidate for powering low-energy wireless sensors in typical indoor environments (e.g., the home or office) with low EM energy density.