RF energy harvesting using a single band cuff button rectenna

Abstract

In this paper a small-sized cuff button rectenna is proposed. The proposed antenna structure is a circular patch antenna of cuff button shape. It is fabricated and tested for suitability to power wearable electronics at 2.4 GHz. The wearable antenna, which resembles a cuff button, is made of a PTFE taconic ceramic substrate. The substrate has a permittivity εr equal to 10. RF-DC conversion is achieved by a diode rectifier and a DC-DC step-up converter. The measured efficiency is 51% at 2.4 GHz or 0 dBm. This rectenna can be used in wireless power transmission systems that transmit power by radio waves.