IEEE 802.11b/g Practical Assessment Using a Low-Cost Quasi-Yagi Rectenna for Indoor RF Energy Harvesting

Abstract

This article presents an experimental analysis of the use of signals transmitted by Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11b/g standards for Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting (RFEH) applications in indoor environments employing a Quasi-Yagi Rectenna (QYR) topology. This analysis is a crucial point to distinguish the use of the IEEE 802.11b/g standards for ambient RFEH applications and contributes to the debate on the use of different types of energy available for free in modern society. For it, a dedicated setup, developed in a controlled environment to avoid any external interference, was built to carry out the programmed measurements. The results obtained indicate that IEEE 802.11b/g standards have great potential for applications in RFEH, with the IEEE 802.11b average power four times higher than IEEE 802.11g at the rectifier output.