Pervasive RF energy harvesting system (GSM 900 and GSM 1800)

RF energy harvesting holds a promising future for generating a small amount of energy to potentially power on low power devices like wireless sensor network. Due to path loss and restriction on transmit power; the RF power available to the input of the RF energy harvesting system is relative low. In this work, we show how wireless power transfer can occur more efficiently by the design of a high Q coil antenna. The receiving antenna and RF-DC converter are being analyzed and discussed. Finally, a prototype is fabricated and it shows capability to harvest a voltage in the range of 2V stored in the super capacitor from the air without a prominent source nearby. So, is RF energy harvesting ever going to become a practical reality? The answer is a cautious yes.