Extending the Range of 5G Energy Transfer: Towards the Wireless Power Grid

In this work, the authors demonstrate the potential of 5G/mm-wave signals, coupled with wide-coverage Rotman-lens-based harvesters (a.k.a. tag) to achieve efficient and long-range powering. First, the rationale for the approach is described, before the elements of the harvester and their design specifications are presented and their performance is reported. Finally, the emitting system is detailed, followed by the presentation of its use with the tag to demonstrate long-range wireless power transfer (WPT) at mm-wave frequencies. For the first time, a relatively-compact rectenna system is shown to be able to collect 5G signals at ranges exceeding 16 m with a wide angular coverage, thereby extending the range relative to previous efforts by more than 5x and demonstrating a pathway towards the emergence of the Wireless Power Grid (WPG), a key to enabling the accelerated deployment of energy-autonomous wireless sensors ubiquitous constellations for digital twinning, smart cities, and intelligent infrastructure.