2010 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Technical Program

Session: THPH	RFID and Power Harvesting Technologies
Chair:	Luca Roselli, University of Perugia
Co-Chair:	Apostolos Geprgoados, CTTC, Barcelona

THPH-1	CAD of Wireless Resonant Energy Links (WREL) Realized by Coils
9:40 AM-11:40 AM	M. Dionigi, M. Mongiardo, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
(1189)	Electromagnetic wireless resonant energy links (WREL) can also be realized by using resonant coils coupled via their evanescent fields. In this paper we propose a new structure for WREL and illustrate the similarities and the differences of CAD of WREL with resonant coils and RFID working at 13.56 MHz. An experimental set-up for WREL with resonant coils is realized and its equivalent network, working both in frequency and time–domain, is extracted. Relevant excitation and Q-factor differences between RFID, which are used for information exchange, and WREL, which are designed for energy transfer, are discussed.

THPH-2	Wireless Remote Localization System utilizing Ambient RF/Solar Power Scavenging RFID Tags
9:40 AM-11:40 AM	R. J. Vyas, V. Lakafosis, M. Tentzeris, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States
(1432)	A novel hybrid battery-less tag design using ambient solar and proposed RF power is presented. The novelty of this system is that the RFID tag not only uses ambient RF/solar power to power itself, but also it uses it as triggering mechanism for initiating data communication. A remote localization system with very good accuracy utilizing this tag configuration and making use of RFID to Wireless Sensor Node communication is showcased as an end application with tremendous potential.

THPH-3	CAD Procedure for Predicting the Energy Received by Wireless Scavenging Systems in the Near- and Far-field Region
9:40 AM-11:40 AM	V. Rizzoli¹, D. Masotti¹, N. Arbizzani¹, A. Costanzo², ¹University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, ²II School of Engineering-University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
(1474)	The paper introduces a rigorous methodology for predicting RF-to-DC conversion in power harvesters. The results of a full-wave EM simulation of the harvesting antenna are rigorously handled by EM theory to produce a Norton equivalent circuit of the antenna in the presence of an incident field. In turn, this allows a full nonlinear analysis of the rectifier to be carried out, thus providing an accurate evaluation of the conversion efficiency. For validation purposes we consider a circularly polarized rectifying antenna (rectenna) designed to harvest energy from RF sources (such as mobile phones and/or base stations) at GSM 1800 standard frequencies. The computed and measured performance of a prototype rectenna compare very favorably in different real-world scenarios including near- and far-field situations.

THPH-4	Sensor Data Transmission Through Passive RFID Tags to Feed Wireless Sensor Networks
9:40 AM-11:40 AM	L. Catarinucci, R. Colella, L. Tarricone, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
(1479)	The use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for the automatic transmission of physical parameters in wireless sensor networks paves the way to a large class of attractive applications. Nevertheless, although some RFID tags capable to transmit sensor-like information are already on the market, only a limited number of sensors, such as those for temperature or pressure measurement, can be easily miniaturized and embedded in the RFID chip. The integration of more complex sensors, in fact, appears to be complicated and extremely expensive. In this paper, a cost-effective general-purpose multi-ID tag is proposed. It can be connected to generic sensor and can transmit towards a standard RFID reader, a proper combination of ID codes that univocally codifies the sensor measured value. The functionalities of this device have been extensively validated under stressing conditions and the capability to transmit whatever kind of sensor data has been demonstrated.

THPH-5	Piggyback Modulation for UHF RFID Sensors
9:40 AM-11:40 AM	H. Chen, A. Bhadkamkar, D. W. van der Weide, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, United States
(1581)	We introduce the technique of “piggybacking” sensor data onto existing commercial passive UHF RFID tags. Sensor data fed into a PIN diode modulator is coupled onto the tag and transmitted along with the tag ID via backscatter. The radar cross section (RCS) of the tag antenna is a function of the input impedance of the tag ASIC, coupling S-parameters, and the input impedance of the PIN diode modulator. Both analog and digital sensor signals coexisting with identification data are presented.

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