Rectennas for Wireless Energy Harvesting and Power Transfer

Wireless energy harvesting (WEH) from ambient electromagnetic fields and wireless power transmission (WPT) using dedicated RF sources have gained much interest as an emerging technology for green energy sources. However, the optimal design of a rectifying-antenna or rectenna is still very challenging for deploying in real-life applications. Moreover, a clear distinction between rectennas for WEH and WPT is not significantly considered while developing the rectennas for different applications. This paper presents a review of our recent progress in rectennas for WEH and WPT applications and addresses the latest research on the development of compact, high-efficiency rectennas. Apart from the existing narrowband and broadband designs, we have developed a number of rectennas with simple structures, broad bandwidths, and improved RF-DC conversion efficiencies for a wide range of WEH and WPT applications. The state-of-the-art technologies presented in this paper could have a great impact on the future development of rectennas for many related applications.