Prototyping a Novel Rectenna/Nantenna based Next Generation Green Energy Harvesting System at RF and Optical/Solar Frequencies

Funding Agency: RFTONICS

Status: Completed (May 2016)

One of the pillars of future sustainable development strategy in any country, is the development of renewable energy technologies and solutions. With the exponential emergence of wireless communications networks, and massive deployment of sensing technologies and electronic instrumentation, our environment is progressively becoming a large reservoir of electromagnetic energy. This can be explored and then reused achieving double benefits. In effect, this minimizes the use of traditional polluted energy sources and reduces energy radiation that may affect the health of population. Therefore, the main purpose of this project is to develop a technology for energy collection and harvesting of the electromagnetic (EM) wave radiation existing in our environment.  This aims to design, develop, prototype and demonstrate rectenna and/or optical nantenna (Solar antennas)  based EM harvesting panels that start from existing radio/microwave frequencies (0.8 GHz - 6 GHz), then millimeter (mmW) bands, and then up to the solar optical frequencies ranging from 200 THz up-to 700 THz (or alternatively 400 nm-1600 nm wavelength).