Study on two-coil and four-coil wireless power transfer systems using Z-parameter approach

Abstract

A wireless power transfer (WPT) system is usually classified as being of either a two-coil or four-coil type. It is known that two-coil WPT systems are suitable for shortrange transmissions, whereas four-coil WPT systems are suitable for mid-range transmissions. However, this paper reveals that the two aforementioned types of WPT system are alike in terms of their performance and characteristics, differing only when it comes to their matching-network configurations. In this paper, we first find the optimum load and source conditions using Z-parameters. Then, we estimate the maximum power transfer efficiency under the optimum load and source conditions, and we describe how to configure the matching networks pertaining to both types of WPT system for the given optimum load and source conditions. The two types of WPT system show the same performance with respect to the coupling coefficient and load impedance. Further, they also demonstrate an identical performance in the two cases considered in this paper, that is, a strong-coupled case and a weak-coupled case.