Fully Integrated mm-Scale 5G RF MIMO Harvester with -40dBm Sensitivity and Spatial MPPT via Hybrid Transformer-Based Combining/Shifting

📋 论文概要

本文提出了一款工作于5G 28GHz频段的MIMO射频能量收集器，利用混合变压器耦合的RF/DC两级功率合成与移相实现空间最大功率点追踪(MPPT)，无需片外电容。在22nm工艺下实现了-40dBm的灵敏度和56.7%的功率转换效率(@0dBm)，较先前工作提升1.3倍。

💡 主要创新点

• 采用混合两级RF/DC天线功率合并与基于变压器的移相结构，实现空间扫描与MPPT，避免了传统片外电容。
• 在28GHz毫米波频段实现了-40dBm的超高灵敏度，显著提升了环境射频能量的收集能力。
• 通过全集成设计在22nm CMOS工艺上达到56.7%的峰值功率转换效率，为同频段最优。

🏷 关键词

📄 原文摘要

Abstract A MIMO RF harvester in the 5G 28-GHz band with spatial MPPT is introduced to self-align high-gain harvesting direction with maximum power availability. Spatial scanning is enabled by a hybrid 2-level RF/DC antenna power combining and phase shifting based on transformers, while eliminating conventional off-chip capacitor(s). A 22nm test-chip shows -40dBm harvesting sensitivity, and power conversion efficiency of 56.7% at 0dBm (1.3× better than prior art at 28GHz). RF harvesting is gaining rapidly growing interest thanks to the ubiquitous availability of RF ambient power as energy source, allowing the elimination of wiring and large batteries, and supporting miniaturization and cost reductions in edge devices [1-23]. The on-going migration to millimeter-wave carrier frequencies in 5G communications (e.g., NR FR2 at 28GHz) represents an opportunity to harvest from additional and densely-available RF

👥 作者与机构

Andrea Ballo1,2, Ruiyuan Yang2, Karim Ali2, Massimo Bruno Alioto2

University of Catania, Catania, Italy, 2National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore