Background

State-of-the-art beamforming wireless power transfer (WPT) systems operate in an open loop or use channel sensing methods for closed-loop optimization. These systems have lower end-to-end efficiency, larger size and weight, and incur higher costs. Furthermore, the handling of the received power requires an additional RF-to-DC conversion step, which state-of-the-art solutions have shown to be lower efficiency. 

Technology Overview

Inventors at Northeastern University developed a new technology which proposes a high-efficiency, wireless power transfer (WPT) scheme. This network of RF energy transmitters can be combined to concentrate power at a remotely located energy receiver. The technology aims to maximize the received RF energy in the following ways:

1. Utilizing an ultra-low-power (ULP), closed-loop, beamforming, energy transfer scheme to maximize the received RF energy
2. Deploying the use of a high-efficiency RF rectifier circuit to enhance RF-to-DC conversion efficiency
3. Installing a high-efficiency power management unit to operate the rectifier at its maximum power point

These innovations result in a several-fold increase in WPT to enable mobile, remote, and natural disaster applications which would otherwise require large batteries. It will also enable on-demand access to remote devices.

Benefits

• Ultra-low power scheme to sense beamforming capabilities 
• High efficiency RF-to-DC conversion
• High efficiency Maximum Power Point Transfer Scheme
• Several fold increase in received RF energy
• Enables remote transfer for energy, particularly in the disaster applications 

Applications

• Enable applications without batteries in the IoT space
• An easier way to sense RF channel, detect jamming attacks

Opportunity

• Research Collaboration
• Licensing
• Commercial partner