Efficiency in RF energy harvesting systems: A comprehensive review

Radio Frequency (RF) energy harvesting is a promising alternative for obtaining energy in the ambient environment. It aims to search for new sources of RF energy and components, to obtain a circuit with high efficiency for converting electromagnetic waves into direct current DC. In this paper, we provide a broad overview of the main blocks of RF energy harvesting such as transmit and receive antennas, impedance matching circuit and rectifier circuit. The parameters and components of these different blocks play a crucial role in achieving high RF-DC conversion efficiency. We present in detail these different blocks used to make RF energy harvesting to power electronic devices with low energy consumption.