Compact Rectenna for Space Application

Alexandru Takacs (1) , Hervé Aubert (1) , Samuel Charlot (2) , S Fredon (3) , L Despoisse (4)

1 LAAS-MINC - Équipe MIcro et Nanosystèmes pour les Communications sans fil
2 LAAS-TEAM - Service Techniques et Équipements Appliqués à la Microélectronique
3 CNES - Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse]
4 TAS - Thales Alenia Space [Toulouse]

This paper addresses an ultra-compact (2.8 cm 2) and wide bandwidth rectenna operating in the extended Ku-band. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed rectenna can harvest a DC power ranging from 0.125 mW to 1.43 mW for frequencies between 14.5 GHz to 19.5 GHz and for resistive loads between 250 Ω and 4 kΩ. A maximum conversion efficiency of 55.3 % is obtained at 16.05 GHz for an incident power density around of 1.26 mW/cm 2. It is the first time, to the authors' knowledge, that such high harvesting performances are obtained using an ultra-compact Ku-band rectenna.

Mots clés: Rectenna; energy harvesting; satellite application

Domaines: Electromagnétisme; Electronique

Alexandru Takacs, Hervé Aubert, Samuel Charlot, S Fredon, L Despoisse. Compact Rectenna for Space Application. International Microwave Symposium, Jun 2014, Tampa, United States. 4p. ⟨hal-01875623⟩