PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF RF ENERGY HARVESTER FOR 2.4 GHZ BAND FOR RFID APPLICATION

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging technology which can be
broadly classified as active or passive tags. Active tags have internal batteries while
passive ones are battery-free and rely on Radio Frequency (RF) signal activation from
a nearby reader. A major drawback for active tag advancement is limited operational
life. One possible solution to overcome frequent battery replacement would be to
extend battery lifespan by harvesting readily available Wi-Fi signals from its
surrounding. Characterized as micro energy harvesting, RF energy source has typically
small microwatt range of harvested power. Designed for low power RFID application,
RF energy harvester known as a rectenna consisting of a receiving antenna attached to
a rectifying circuit was evaluated.