Appropriate Conventional Rectifier Topology for Low-Power RF Energy Harvesting

This article presents a comparative study among commonly used rectifier topologies in literature. The goal of this comparison is to emphasize on advantages and drawbacks of each topology and to see which is the best candidate for low power RF energy harvesting. Comparison is first made in simulation with source-pull optimization techniques in order to find the best behaviour of each topology for a given frequency, RF input power and load. The results are then validated by measurements, to confirm simulation results and draw valid conclusions.