Analysis and design of a Class D rectifier for a Class E driven wireless power transfer system

Traditional rectifiers such as the half-wave and full-wave rectifiers have been the only configuration used in resonant inductive links. Despite their popularity, their input current contains a large amount of harmonics which makes them incompatible with resonant inductive links especially those driven by a Class D or Class E resonant inverter. This paper presents a half-wave Class D voltage-switching rectifier to be used as an alternative to the traditional rectifier. A complete circuit model is presented and detailed analysis is performed based on an analytical approach. The compatibility of the rectifier with resonant inductive links is demonstrated by a design case for a resonant inductive link driven by a Class E inverter. Experimental results are presented to confirm the modelling and analysis of the rectifier.