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This manuscript presents the use of three novel technologies for the implementation of wireless green battery-less sensors that can be used in agriculture. The three technologies, namely, additive manufacturing, energy harvesting, and wireless power transfer from airborne transmitters carried from UAVs, are considered for smart agriculture applications, and their combined use is demonstrated in a case study experiment. Additive manufacturing is exploited for the implementation of both RFID-based sensors and passive sensors based on humidity-sensitive materials. A number of energy-harvesting systems at UHF and ISM frequencies are presented, which are in the position to power platforms of wireless sensors, including humidity and temperature IC sensors used as agriculture sensors. Finally, in order to provide wireless energy to the soil-based sensors with energy harvesting features, wireless power transfer (WPT) from UAV carried transmitters is utilized. The use of these technologies can facilitate the extensive use and exploitation of battery-less wireless sensors, which are environmentally friendly and, thus, "green". Additionally, it can potentially drive precision agriculture in the next era through the implementation of a vast network of wireless green sensors which can collect and communicate data to airborne readers so as to support, the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-based decision-making with data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-band UHF/industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) compact rectenna with wideband UHF matching (855–935 MHz) covering all, EU, U.S., and Chinese UHF radio frequency identification (RFID), standards is presented. The proposed design consists of a compact single-port, dual-band antenna, a three-port dual-branch matching network, and two voltage doubler rectifiers implemented with Schottky diodes and terminated with a common 10 kΩ load. For each band, the measured RF-to-dc efficiency is around 60% for a −5 dBm unmodulated signal. The wideband behavior of the rectenna supports harvesting of multitone signals. The use of a six-tone signal increases the maximum RF-to-dc efficiency of the dual-band rectifier, from approximately 60% for a single-tone UHF signal (890 MHz) to 80% for a six-tone signal for a received RF power of −5 dBm in both cases. A signal generator is used to generate a six-tone signal of equally weighted and equally spaced (10 MHz separation) monochromatic tones, with a total bandwidth of 50 MHz. The measurement results demonstrate that the dc voltages rectified from the two separate RF signals are effectively superimposed on the load, providing a clear advantage compared to single-band rectennas. The single-layer, compact design with a size of 80 × 45 mm2, with a high RF-to-dc efficiency, is an excellent candidate for wirelessly powered RFID tags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a dynamically reconfigurable dual-layer ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna integrated with an energy harvesting (EH) system for powering a GaAs FET switch is presented. The UWB antenna dynamically creates a notch band in the presence of an interfering signal at 5.6 GHz and it goes back to normal UWB operation when the interferer is removed. For the switching operation, the FET switch is powered using only harvested energy carried by the interfering signals. The UWB antenna on the front layer is a microstrip-fed monopole with an embedded elliptical slot. A quarter wavelength linear stub acts as a resonator inside the slot, which is connected and disconnected using the low-power FET switch. The UWB antenna shares the RF ground with a very compact EH system that consists of a planar inverted-F antenna, a very compact voltage-doubler rectifier, and a passive direct-current (dc)-to-dc boost converter. The boost converter elevates the rectified voltage to above the 3.3 V threshold, which is the minimum voltage needed for the actuation of the FET switch. The dynamic notch-band reconfiguration of the UWB antenna without the need for an external dc power source is made possible when the collected power at the input of the rectifier is higher than −12 dBm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy harvesting for wireless communication networks is a new paradigm that allows terminals to recharge their batteries from external energy sources in the surrounding environment. A promising energy harvesting technology is wireless power transfer where terminals harvest energy from electromagnetic radiation. Thereby, the energy may be harvested opportunistically from ambient electromagnetic sources or from sources that intentionally transmit electromagnetic energy for energy harvesting purposes. A particularly interesting and challenging scenario arises when sources perform simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), as strong signals not only increase power transfer but also interference. This article provides an overview of SWIPT systems with a particular focus on the hardware realization of rectenna circuits and practical techniques that achieve SWIPT in the domains of time, power, antennas, and space. The article also discusses the benefits of a potential integration of SWIPT technologies in modern communication networks in the context of resource allocation and cooperative cognitive radio networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]