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This paper focuses on a near-field wireless power transmission link consisting of two magnetically coupled inductances. The case of a resonant coupling realized by adding appropriate compensating capacitances is solved. By using a network formalism, the link is modeled as a two-port network and rigorously analyzed in the case where both the input impedance and the load are specified. In particular, it is demonstrated that there is just one optimum design of the network that allows maximizing both the efficiency and the active power on the load. Closed-form design formulas for the optimum design are presented and validated by circuital simulations.

By using network theory, a wireless power transfer network based on coupled capacitance, that is, on electric field coupling, is numerically investigated. Three possible solutions of interest are considered: one that maximizes efficiency, one that maximizes the power delivered to the load and one that realizes power matching (conjugate matching). In each case, at a selected frequency, the optimal source/load impedances are derived in closed form. It is shown that maximum efficiency solution has the possibility of achieving almost unitary efficiency. It is also shown that, as the efficiency is increased, the power delivered to the load is decreased.

In this paper, a wearable resonator suitable to be used for both power and data transmission is presented. The basic element is a complementary split ring resonator that has been optimized to operate both as a dipole-like antenna at 2.45 GHz and as the receiver of a resonant energy link operating at 915 MHz when coupled with an identical external resonator connected to a power source. Experimental data referring to a prototype fabricated by using a conductive adhesive fabric on a leather substrate are reported and discussed. With regard to the wireless resonant energy link (WREL), it is demonstrated that at 915 MHz, the RF-to-RF power transfer efficiency of the link is approximately 78.1%. As for the performance obtained when the resonator is used as an antenna, a gain of approximately −0.43 dB was obtained. Additionally, the performance of the proposed link when connected to a Power Management Unit (PMU) that converts the radio frequency (RF) energy received by the wearable resonator into DC energy that can be directly used for recharging a thin-film battery was also investigated. Experimental tests were performed in order to evaluate both the total efficiency of the wireless charger (i.e., the WREL link connected to the PMU) and the time necessary to recharge a THINERGY MEC201 battery. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of using the proposed WREL for implementing a battery charger; in particular, by providing an input power higher than 8 dBm, the time necessary to recharge the considered thin-film battery is shorter than 38 min.

Medium-range wireless power transfer (WPT) can be realized in several different ways, e.g. by using inductive or capacitive coupling and resonant or non-resonant networks. This contribution focuses on a WPT link implemented by inductively coupled resonators. The case of a link using just two resonators (direct link) and operating at the main resonant frequency is investigated. It is shown that the operation at the main resonant frequency allows optimizing either efficiency or available power on the load, depending on the network parameterization.

In this paper three different operative regimes for a resonant inductive Wireless Power Transfer link are discussed. The first operative regime provides a constant output voltage or current. The second analyzed operative regime adopts a frequency agile operative scheme and is well-suited for applications requiring a performance independent of the coupling coefficient. Finally, the third operating regime provides a load-independent output voltage or current. For all the analyzed cases the relevant equations are illustrated and discussed. Some experimental data are also reported for validation.

The solution of large and complex electromagnetic (EM) problems often leads to a substantial demand for high-performance computing resources and strategies. This is true for a wide variety of numerical methods and applications, ranging from EM compatibility to radio-coverage, circuit modeling, and optimization of components. In the last decades, graphics processing units (GPUs) have gained popularity in scientific computing as a low-cost and powerful parallel architecture. This paper gives an overview of the main efforts of researchers to port computational electromagnetics (CEM) codes to GPU. Moreover, GPU implementation aspects of two well-known techniques, namely the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) and the method of moments (MoM), are investigated. The impressive speed-ups achieved (up to 60× and 25× for FDTD and MoM, respectively) demonstrate the effectiveness of GPUs in accelerating CEM codes. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We propose the realization of a compact fully-passive biotelemetry tag composed of a high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) connected to a wireless link. The Gallium Arsenide based gateless HEMT serves both as the environmental sensing element and as the amplitude modulator of the carrier signal received by the antenna. A prototype demonstrator operating in the MHz range has been developed: it consists of an array of transistors with different gate geometries and two spiral loop resonators implementing the wireless link. More specifically, one resonator (Tag-resonator) is connected to the array of transistors, while the other one (Reader-resonator) is connected to a power generator/reader device; the wireless link uses the magnetic coupling between the two resonators. Experimental results demonstrate that the reader-resonator exhibits an intensity modulation of the resonance dip depending on the voltage applied to the HEMT gate. These results will be used as a guideline for the realization of biocompatible sub-millimeter tags operating in the Gigahertz frequency range.

This paper presents a broadband planar antenna; experimental results demonstrate a relative bandwidth of 122%. As an example of application, the antenna is used in the design of a rectenna for RF energy scavenging, with promising performance.

In this paper, a time domain-based approach to practical characterization of antennas is presented. The goal is to prove that time domain-based approach, after appropriate processing, represents an accurate and more practicable alternative to the typically used (yet highly expensive) antenna characterization measurements that are performed in anechoic chamber through a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). To this purpose, two commercial antennas, differing in operating frequency band, are considered as significant test-cases. Reflectometric measurements performed in Time Domain (TD) are subsequently transformed in Frequency Domain (FD), and compared with VNA reference measurements directly obtained in anechoic chamber. Results demonstrate that the preliminary choice of an optimal time window is the main factor leading to a substantial enhancement of the overall measurement accuracy, which is comparable to that provided by VNA measurements in anechoic chamber. This demonstrates that a good insight into the antenna characteristics can be obtained even without using highly expensive facilities.