A Dual-Source Energy Harvesting Architecture for Smart Sensors: PV and 5.8 GHz Rectenna Integration

Khairy, Ahmed; AlThuwaini, Mohammed; Ibrahim, Islam M.

doi:10.21608/astj.2025.402398.1087

A Dual-Source Energy Harvesting Architecture for Smart Sensors: PV and 5.8 GHz Rectenna Integration

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ 1Electrical Engineering Department King Fahad University for Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

² Software engineering,faculty of engineering,egyptian chinese university,cairo,egypt

10.21608/astj.2025.402398.1087

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid energy harvesting system combining photovoltaic (PV) and 5.8 GHz RF rectenna sources to provide continuous power for low-energy smart sensors. A 4×4 microstrip patch antenna array is developed and integrated with a voltage doubler rectifier using Schottky diodes, achieving a peak power conversion efficiency of 81.75% at 10 dBm input power. In parallel, a PV module modeled in Simulink delivers up to 6 W, with a maximum power point at 17.1 V and 3.5 A. To resolve the voltage mismatch between the PV and RF sources whose rectifier output reaches approximately 3.5 V individual DC-DC converters are used for each source, and their outputs are unified via a power management unit (PMU). The integrated system ensures a stable and efficient supply of energy, harvesting up to 30–35 Wh. This dual-source architecture enhances energy reliability and supports autonomous sensor operation under variable lighting and RF exposure conditions. It offers a robust solution for sustainable IoT deployments, especially in remote environments, paving the way for long-life, self-powered smart electronics.

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