Reciprocity-based simulation methodology to estimate the power distribution received by electromagnetic energy harvesters

The capability to efficiently harvest power from ambient energy sources is a crucial element for the development of low-maintenance wireless sensor networks. Available energy levels that can be harvested from ambient electromagnetic (EM) sources are rather low (0.1 μW/cm²). Insufficient information about the available EM energy under different working conditions results in poor design decisions, leading to a sub-optimal system design. In this study, a novel and efficient simulation methodology is developed which predicts the statistical distribution of the power harvested by an antenna when immersed in a given (statistical) EM environment. The methodology is used to quantify the impact of the antenna´s orientation, location, exact geometry and so on, on the quantity of the harvested energy. The methodology is successfully applied to a realistic energy harvesting antenna in different EM environments (indoor, outdoor etc.).