Dual‐output quasi‐Yagi antenna for out‐of‐band RF energy harvesting

Abstract

Aiming to improve the SWIPT (Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer) technologies, this work proposes a novel Dual‐Output quasi‐Yagi antenna (DOQY), designed by combining a single classic quasi‐Yagi antenna (QY) and a dedicated frequency splitter in order to behave as two distinct antennas, one operating at 1.8 GHz mobile communication band for data communication and another at 2.4 GHz ISM band for out‐of‐band energy harvesting. To validate the proposal, the results of the DOQY are compared to those presented by a reference quasi‐Yagi antenna (QYref) with the same dimensions. Additionally, for analysis of the energy harvesting capacity and the corresponding necessary RF design criteria, the antennas are connected to a well‐established rectifier system and its performances were compared. The novel architecture presents a antenna gain performance of 70%, in comparison with QYref in both central frequency bands, presenting, however, the same performance in energy harvesting. At 1.8 GHz the antenna gain performance is increased to 81% of the QYref, adding the rectifier circuit in their respective port. These satisfactory results endorse the operability of the DOQY for SWIPT application, adding a new port without compromising the system performance.