Novel energy harvesting antenna design using a parasitic radiator

Abstract

A novel energy harvesting antenna for various wireless transceivers is proposed. This antenna is composed of two parts, the main and the parasitic radiator. The main radiator has the same role as a general element antenna, i.e., to transmit and receive the RF signal. The parasitic radiator is used to gather the RF power from the main radiators, which mostly do not contribute the main radiator's electrical performance. Thus, we can generate DC power using the dissipated RF energy that is radiated from the main radiator. The main radiator is designed as a printed dipole and the parasitic radiator has a two turn loop structure fabricated on a substrate. The main radiator is vertically placed on the ground and inserted in the rectangular slit of the substrate of the parasitic radiator. The height of the parasitic radiator can be controlled by two supporters. In the design process, we analyzed how the antenna performance changed when adjusting the height of the parasitic radiator and thus determined its optimal height.