Design and Implementation of RF to DC Converter for Low Power IoT Device Using RF Energy Harvesting

RF energy harvesting is a method used to obtain energy from radio frequency signals. Radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves are converted into DC voltage which can be used for low power IoT devices. RF energy harvesting can convert RF signal using a rectenna which consists of a rectifier and antenna. Antenna are used to receive RF signals and rectifiers are used to convert into DC voltage. This paper describes design and implementation process of the RF-DC converter circuit with the Dickson single stage multiplier to obtained a minimum DC voltage of 3. 3V that can be used to operate IoT devices with low power consumption. From the results of the tests, the circuit has 38.2 % efficiency and the module can charge the supercapacitor up to 4.03 V. To charge a supercapacitor with an initial voltage of 2. 928V to 4. 03V, the time required is 2.15 hours. IoT device can use RF signals as the main energy to replace the battery and reduce environment pollution caused by batteries waste.