Throughput maximization for energy harvesting nodes with generalized circuit power modelling

Communication devices nowadays can be made to have energy harvesting ability by equipping, for example, solar cells. The transmission strategy that an energy harvesting node should employ in order to achieve the maximal throughput differs from the one employed by a node with constant power supply. Assuming full knowledge of the energy arrival process, we investigate in this paper the throughput maximizing transmission strategy of an energy harvesting node and utilize a general circuit power model to account for the energy consumption within the circuitry of the node. To this end, the energy harvesting node is treated as a control system and the throughput maximization is formulated and solved within the framework of optimal control. The proposed construction algorithm of the optimal trajectory is applicable to circuit power functions that are convex in transmit power.