Progress of Rectenna Arrays for Microwave Power Transmission Systems

Microwave power transmission (MPT) technology has been proposed to supply power to the long-reached systems, such as high altitude airships, unmanned vehicles, and far-reached wireless sensor networks, etc., and it is also the key technology of the solar power stations (SPS). Rectenna array, receiving the microwave (MW) and convert it into the direct current (DC) power, is one main component of an MPT system. In this paper, the development of rectenna arrays are reviewed. Second, the recent research work of rectennas and rectenna arrays at C-, X- and Ka-bands at Shanghai University are illustrated. Thirdly, based on the experimental results and reasonable evaluation, the designs of rectenna arrays for 1 kW DC power at different bands are evaluated and analyzed. Finally, prospects and challenges of rectenna array and MPT technology are discussed.