Study of optimal transmission policies in Radio Frequency energy harvesting systems

Abstract

Energy harvesting (EH) emerges as a promising technology for the development of digital communications regarding to Green Communications paradigm. In this scenario, the most relevant characteristic is the use of renewable energy to power wirelessly electronics devices. By means of this technology, several advantages are achieved in the field of wireless communications. Self-powered systems are developed to increase battery lifetime. The main applications are reported in the fields of wireless sensor networks, fifth-generation cellular networks (5G), Radio Frequency Identifcation (RFID) and Cognitive Radio (CR) paradigm. RF sources are presented as an attractive solution since it provides relatively predictable energy supply. In this sense, the current article is addressed to describe main components of a RF harvesting node. In addition, this harvesting node is modeled theoretically and main limitations to transmit information on communication channels are analyzed. Then, main solutions reported to optimize efficiency on information transmission are described.