A Multiband Meanderline Rectenna: Design and Simulation for Enhanced Performance

This research article presents design, simulation and analysis of a novel meanderline microstrip patch rectenna to harvest energy from the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequency bands. The research is approached in two stages. In the first stage, a meanderline microstrip patch antenna offering improved bandwidth, radiation characteristics, and impedance matching is considered. The antenna is constructed on an FR4 substrate, with the radiating patch positioned between the substrate and a solid ground plane. A feedline strip is incorporated in the radiating patch to excite the antenna. The factors concerning the rectenna's design and optimization process included meanderline geometry, substrate nature, and the nature and performance of electronic components. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated using Keysight Advanced Design System, taking into account metrics like return loss, radiation pattern, output voltage, and power harvesting efficiency. An impedance-matching network was designed and implemented in the simulation to avoid any power loss due to impedance mismatch between the antenna and the rectifier. A multiband rectifier is utilized to convert RF power into usable output DC voltage. The conventional diodes used in the rectifier have been replaced with HSMS 2850 Schottky diodes to further improve efficiency. In the simulation of the proposed rectenna, an overall bandwidth of 1.2 GHz was achieved, with a gain of 3.56 dBi at 2.40 GHz and 8.064 dBi at 5.02 GHz. The rectenna demonstrated an output voltage of 3.646 V at an input power level of 30 dBm and -2mV at -5 dBm input power level. A peak conversion efficiency of 83% was obtained for the overall system. The analysis of simulation results demonstrated an improved performance of the antenna in terms of increased bandwidth and enhanced power harvesting capabilities.