Title :
A −19dBm sensitivity integrated RF-DC converter with regulated output voltage for powering UHF wireless sensors
Author :
Pasca, Mirko ; D´Amico, Stefano ; Chironi, Vincenzo ; Catarinucci, Luca ; de Donno, Danilo ; Colella, Riccardo ; Tarricone, Luciano
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Innovation Eng., Univ. of Salento Lecce, Lecce, Italy
Abstract :
This paper presents a -19dBm sensitivity RF-DC converter for energy harvesting applications. It is able to harvest the energy from a dipole antenna operating at 866.5MHz (European UHF RFID frequency) providing a regulated output voltage in the range between 1.9V to 2.4V over a 2MΩ resistive load. Such voltage level is suitable to supply body sensor nodes. The four stages Dickson´s RF-DC rectifier converts the UHF RF input signal to a 2V DC output, feeding the following two stages DC-DC Pelliconi´s charge pump. The DC-DC charge pump, powered by a 90kHz ring oscillator, is used to further step-up the RF-DC rectifier output voltage and to realize the RF to load isolation. The output voltage regulation is performed by a feedback network made by a hysteresis comparator and a Vt-based voltage reference. The RF-DC converter shows a 38% power conversion efficiency at 0dbm input power level.
Keywords :
DC-DC power convertors; UHF antennas; body sensor networks; charge pump circuits; dipole antennas; energy harvesting; rectifiers; reference circuits; DC-DC charge pump; European UHF RFID frequency; RF to load isolation; RF-DC converter; RF-DC rectifier output voltage; UHF wireless sensors; body sensor nodes; dipole antenna; energy harvesting applications; feedback network; four stages Dickson´s RF-DC rectifier; frequency 866.5 MHz; frequency 90 kHz; hysteresis comparator; output voltage regulation; resistance 2 Mohm; ring oscillator; voltage 1.9 V to 2.4 V; voltage reference; Capacitance; Charge pumps; Radio frequency; Rectifiers; Ring oscillators; Sensitivity; Sensors; Body Sensor Nodes; Charge Pump; Energy Harvesting; RFID;
Conference_Titel :
Advances in Sensors and Interfaces (IWASI), 2015 6th IEEE International Workshop on
Conference_Location :
Gallipoli
DOI :
10.1109/IWASI.2015.7184926
