WPT, Recent Techniques for Improving System Efficiency

Wireless power transfer (WPT) technologies have received much more attention during the last decade due to their effectiveness in wireless charging for a wide range of electronic devices. To transmit power between two points without a physical link, conventional WPT systems use two coils, one coil is a transmitter (Tx) and the other is a receiver (Rx) which generates an induced current from the received power. Two main factors control the performance of the WPT schemes, power transfer efficiency (PTE) and transmission range. Power transfer efficiency refers to how much power received by the rechargeable device compared to the power transmitted from the transmitter; while transmission range indicates the longest distance between transmitter and receiver at which the receiver can receive power within the acceptable range of power transfer efficiency. Several studies were carried out to improve these two parameters. Many techniques are used for WPT such as inductive coupling, magnetic resonance coupling, and strongly coupled systems. Recently, metamaterial structures are also proposed for further transfer efficiency enhancement. Metamaterials work as an electromagnetic lensing structure that focuses the evanescent transmitted power into receiver direction. Transmitting & Receiving antenna systems may be used for sending power in certain radiation direction. Optimizing the transmitter antenna and receiver antenna characteristics increase the efficiency for WPT systems. This chapter will present a survey on different wireless power transmission schemes.