A metamaterial-inspired, electrically small rectenna for high-efficiency, low power harvesting and scavenging at the global positioning system L1 frequency

An electrically small rectenna was designed and tested at the global positioning system (GPS) L1 frequency (1.5754 GHz). The metamaterial-inspired near-field resonant parasitic antenna size (ka ∼ 0.467) and its direct match to the input impedance of the rectifying circuit decreased the whole size of the rectenna (ka ∼ 0.611). The simulated and measured rectifying efficiencies were, respectively, 75.7 and 79.6% when the input power to the rectifying circuit was 0.0 dBm (1 mW). The highest rectifying efficiency, 84.7%, was achieved at the GPS L1 frequency for a 3.0 dBm input power. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement.