Broadband Rectifying Antenna Design for Low Power Applications

Rectifying antennas (rectennas) represent an emerging technology with incredible potential in the fields of power systems, control systems, and microwave energy recycling. In recent years, however, the majority of rectenna research has been focused on developing high power, single frequency space based power systems for transferring energy gathered in space to the earth\u27s surface. To encourage expansion of rectenna research into other fields and applications, the thesis explores the flexibility of rectennas to handle low power situations where frequency and power levels are unknown. The thesis presents an analytically designed planar square spiral antenna and a matched simple rectifying circuit designed around a set of developed threshold values. The antenna employs a novel feeding technique that allows for easy connection to an input coaxial line and removes the need for complex and large balancing networks present in traditional spiral antenna structures. Through computer modeling, the rectenna is determined to achieve greater than 60 percent rectification efficiency in a frequency range of 2 to 5 GHz