Ultra-Low-Power Wireless Transceivers Powered by Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting

由射频能量收集供电的超低功耗无线收发器

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-03475
• 负责人: Moez, Kambiz
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=752201
• 关键词: Ultra; Low; Power; Wireless; Transceivers

The main objective of this research project is to develop self-powered wireless communication system platforms capable of data conversion, processing and wireless transmission/reception of the data without requiring an internal energy source. Use of energy stored in batteries or supplied by the grid through wired connections for powering wireless communication systems is either impossible or prohibitively costly in many emerging applications such as Internet of Things where maintaining and replacing batteries for a large number of portable nodes is not practical, harsh environment sensors where the required batteries that withstand such conditions are not available and wired connections are extremely expensive, and biomedical implants where replacement of batteries often requires surgery. While energy required for the operation of these low-power wireless nodes can be harvested from a multitude of sources, radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting that scavenges energy from ambient electromagnetic waves is one of the most viable options because of the availability and predictability of RF energy. Recently there have been several reports that describe powering a range of ultra-low-power electronic devices capable of sensing, computing, and communicating by energy harvesting is now feasible, thanks to the low power consumption of modern semiconductor technologies and recent advances in energy harvesting systems. However, these works often suffer from limited operation range and functionality and unreliable operation in real-world conditions. To develop reliable self-powered wireless communication platforms with extended ranges of operation, significant research and development are needed to enhance the efficiency of radio frequency energy harvesters and lower the power consumption of wireless communication systems. This research can enable scaling of Internet of Things (IoT) to a significantly larger number of nodes than in the case if the energy required for the operation of these IoT nodes supplied by batteries or the electricity grid. If deployed in harsh environments, these devices reduce the initial deployment and maintenance cost of monitoring of such environments with many impending applications in Alberta's oil and gas industry, Ontario's automotive industry, and Quebec's aerospace industry. The commercialization of the proposed self-powered wireless communication platforms will help Canada's high-tech companies to introduce new lines of products and/or add extra feature/capacity to their current products putting them at a significant economic/technological advantage to the global competitors. The anticipated outcome is not only the creation of new knowledge and technology know-to-how that advances the science and technology in the fields of electromagnetic energy harvesting and wireless communication systems while also training highly-in-demand HQP for future employment in the thriving high-tech sector in Canada.

该研究项目的主要目标是开发自供电的无线通信系统平台，能够进行数据转换，处理和无线传输/接收数据，而无需内部能源。使用存储在电池中的能量或由电网通过有线连接供应的能量来为无线通信系统供电在诸如物联网的许多新兴应用中是不可能的或成本过高，在物联网中，维护和更换用于大量便携式节点的电池是不实际的，在所需的电池不能承受这种条件并且有线连接极其昂贵的恶劣环境传感器中，以及生物医学植入物，其中电池的更换通常需要手术。虽然这些低功率无线节点的操作所需的能量可以从多个来源收集，但是由于RF能量的可用性和可预测性，从环境电磁波中收集能量的射频（RF）能量收集是最可行的选择之一。最近有几个报告描述了通过能量收集为能够感测、计算和通信的一系列超低功率电子设备供电现在是可行的，这要归功于现代半导体技术的低功耗和能量收集系统的最新进展。然而，这些作品往往受到有限的操作范围和功能，并在现实世界的条件下不可靠的操作。为了开发具有扩展操作范围的可靠的自供电无线通信平台，需要进行大量的研究和开发以提高射频能量采集器的效率并降低无线通信系统的功耗。这项研究可以将物联网（IoT）扩展到比电池或电网提供这些IoT节点运行所需能量的情况更多的节点。如果部署在恶劣环境中，这些设备降低了监测这种环境的初始部署和维护成本，在阿尔伯塔的石油和天然气工业、安大略的汽车工业和魁北克的航空航天工业中有许多即将到来的应用。拟议的自供电无线通信平台的商业化将有助于加拿大的高科技公司推出新的产品线和/或为其现有产品增加额外的功能/容量，使其在全球竞争对手中具有显著的经济/技术优势。预期的结果不仅是创造新的知识和技术诀窍，推动电磁能量收集和无线通信系统领域的科学和技术，同时还为加拿大蓬勃发展的高科技行业的未来就业培训高需求的HQP。