A Compact Fractal Loop Rectenna for RF Energy Harvesting

Abstract

This letter presents a compact fractal loop rectenna for RF energy harvesting at GSM1800 bands. First, a fractal loop antenna with novel in-loop ground-plane impedance matching is proposed for the rectenna design. Also, a high-efficiency rectifier is designed in the loop antenna to form a compact rectenna. Measured results show that an efficiency of 61% and an output dc voltage of 1.8 V have been achieved over 12-kΩ resistor for 10 μW/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> power density at 1.8 GHz. The rectenna is able to power up a battery-less LCD watch at a distance of 10 m from the cell tower. The proposed rectenna is compact, easy to fabricate, and useful for various energy harvesting applications.