Title :
A Novel Transparent UWB Antenna for Photovoltaic Solar Panel Integration and RF Energy Harvesting
Author :
Peter, Tom ; Rahman, T.A. ; Cheung, S.W. ; Nilavalan, Rajagopal ; Abutarboush, Hattan F. ; Vilches, Antonio
Author_Institution :
Fac. of Electr. Eng., Univ. Teknol. Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia
Abstract :
A novel transparent ultra-wideband antenna for photovoltaic solar-panel integration and RF energy harvesting is proposed in this paper. Since the approval by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) in 2002, much research has been undertaken on UWB technology, especially for wireless communications. However, in the last decade, UWB has also been proposed as a power harvester. In this paper, a transparent cone-top-tapered slot antenna covering the frequency range from 2.2 to 12.1 GHz is designed and fabricated to provide UWB communications whilst integrated onto solar panels as well as harvest electromagnetic waves from free space and convert them into electrical energy. The antenna when sandwiched between an a-Si solar panel and glass is able to demonstrate a quasi omni-directional pattern that is characteristic of a UWB. The antenna when connected to a 2.55-GHz rectifier is able to produce 18-mV dc in free space and 4.4-mV dc on glass for an input power of 10 dBm at a distance of 5 cm. Although the antenna presented in this paper is a UWB antenna, only an operating range of 2.49 to 2.58 GHz for power scavenging is possible due to the limitation of the narrowband rectifier used for the study.
Keywords :
UHF antennas; electromagnetic waves; energy harvesting; microwave antennas; omnidirectional antennas; rectifiers; slot antennas; solar cells; ultra wideband antennas; FCC; Federal Communications Committee; RF energy harvesting; Si; UWB communications; a-Si solar panel; distance 5 cm; electrical energy; electromagnetic waves; free space; frequency 2.2 GHz to 12.1 GHz; narrowband rectifier; photovoltaic solar panel integration; quasiomni-directional pattern; transparent UWB antenna; transparent cone-top-tapered slot antenna; transparent ultra-wideband antenna; voltage 18 mV; voltage 4.4 mV; wireless communications; Antenna measurements; Glass; Loss measurement; Rectennas; Rectifiers; Ultra wideband antennas; Energy; UWB; rectenna; transparent;
Journal_Title :
Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TAP.2014.2298044