Advances in non-radiative resonant inductive coupling wireless Power Transfer: A comparison of alternative circuit and system models driven by emergent applications

Recent research in wireless power transfer (WPT) using resonant inductive coupling has demonstrated very high efficiencies at large distances compared to the transmitting element dimensions, thereby increasing the number of potential applications of WPT. Since resonant inductive coupling is a very multidisciplinary field of research, different approaches have been proposed to predict the behaviour of these systems from the physical theory of resonators (coupled-mode theory) and circuit theory. Although the equivalence of these models for a point-to-point link has already been studied together with the performance metrics Power Transferred to the Load (PTL) and Power Transfer Efficiency (PTE), the new challenges and applications of this technology emphasize the necessity of analytical models to predict and assess the behavior of Multiple Input - Multiple Output (MIMO) links. In this article we revisit the current analytical models from the MIMO perspective, derive the analytical equations for the equivalent performance metrics PTE and PTL and demonstrate how to maximize them in a non-radiative resonant wireless power transfer link from a circuit-centric point of view, providing design guidelines in terms of optimal source and load impedances. This work concludes with a prospective discussion on open challenges of WPT.