Design and Optimization of a High Gravimetric Power Density Receiver for Wireless Charging of Drones

This article presents the weight optimization of a receiver for wireless drone charging applications. There is need for comprehensive modeling to minimize the onboard weight on the flying drone platform. A systematic approach that codesigns all stages of the wireless charger, based on comprehensive loss, weight, and thermal modeling, is put forward to minimize the onboard weight for drone wireless charging applications. A 200 W, GaN-based prototype is implemented to validate the modeling. The prototype has been tested up to 204 W without any active cooling. The receiver achieves a gravimetric power density of 8.3 W/g excluding the weight of connectors, sensing, and control. Index Terms-Wireless power transfer (WPT), power density, synchronous rectifier.