A flexible RF energy harvester using a hybrid printing technology for 'stand-alone' wireless sensor platforms. (31st January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Sangkil; Jeong, Soyeon; Bito, Jo; Georgiadis, Apostolos; Tentzeris, Manos M
• Is Part Of: Flexible and printed electronics. Volume 3:Number 1(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-01-31
• Subjects: flexible electronics -- wireless energy harvesting -- hybrid printed electronics; Flexible electronics -- Periodicals; Printed electronics -- Periodicals; Flexible electronics; Printed electronics; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 621.381
• DOI: 10.1088/2058-8585/aaa4a9
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2058-8585

Abstract

Abstract: A flexible RF energy harvester using a novel hybrid printing technology on low-cost polymer substrates is introduced in this paper. The presented printing technology is a hybrid approach taking advantage of the low-cost flexible printing and of the high-performance surface mounting technology. The design guidelines for the hybrid printed electronics, PdCl2 catalyst ink for inkjet-printing, and material characterization method using a ring resonator are discussed in detail. A flexible RF energy harvester is designed and its performance is experimentally verified for proof-of-concept purposes. The fabricated prototype generates more than 2.9 V when it is exposed to a power density around 1 μ W cm −2 at UHF radio frequency identification frequency range, demonstrating the feasibility and capability of the presented technology towards scalable conformal autonomous low-cost electronics.