In this lecture from the Wireless Without Batteries series, we discuss a hypothetical device that converts RF energy to heat, and then to DC power. Not only does this nanoscale device outperform conventional Silicon CMOS diode rectification at the nanoscale, but the analysis illustrates the fundamental thermodynamic limits of RF energy-harvesting.
WWB07: RF Thermoelectric Conversion
Paper: G.D. Durgin. “RF Thermoelectric Generation for Passive RFID,” IEEE RFID 2016, Orlando, FL. 5 May 2016. 8 pages.