A Highly Efficient RF-DC Converter for Energy Harvesting Applications Using a Threshold Voltage Cancellation Scheme

Muhammad Basim, Danial Khan, Qurat Ul Ain, Khuram Shehzad, Syed Adil Ali Shah, Byeong Gi Jang, Young Gun Pu, Joon Mo Yoo, Joon Tae Kim, Kang Yoon Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, a self-threshold voltage (Vth) compensated Radio Frequency to Direct Current (RF-DC) converter operating at 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz is proposed for RF energy harvesting applications. The threshold voltage of the rectifying devices is compensated by the bias voltage generated by the auxiliary transistors and output DC voltage. The auxiliary transistors compensate the threshold voltage (Vth) of the PMOS rectifying device while the threshold voltage (Vth) of the NMOS rectifying device is compensated by the output DC voltage. The proposed RF-DC converter was implemented in 180 nm Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The experimental results show that the proposed design achieves better performance at both 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies in terms of PCE, output voltage, sensitivity, and effective area. The peak power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 38.5% at −12 dBm across a 1 MΩ load for 900 MHz frequency was achieved. Similarly, for 2.4 GHz frequency, the proposed circuit achieves a peak PCE of 26.5% at −6 dBm across a 1 MΩ load. The proposed RF-DC converter circuit shows a sensitivity of −20 dBm across a 1 MΩ load and produces a 1 V output DC voltage.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalSensors
Volume22
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2022
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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