Saturday 01 March 2025
Recent advancements in wireless power transfer (WPT) technology have paved the way for a future where devices can charge wirelessly, eliminating the need for cables and plugs. One of the key challenges in WPT is optimizing the transfer of energy between the transmitter and receiver, taking into account the complexities of real-world channels and non-linear energy harvesting.
To address this challenge, researchers have been exploring the use of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), which are essentially large, thin sheets of material that can be programmed to manipulate electromagnetic waves. RISs have been shown to improve the efficiency of WPT systems by enhancing the signal strength and reducing interference.
A new paper has shed light on a previously overlooked aspect of RIS-aided WPT: the importance of waveform optimization. The authors demonstrate that carefully designing the waveform used in WPT can significantly improve the system’s performance, particularly when using RISs to enhance the signal.
The researchers developed an algorithm that uses semi-definite programming to optimize the waveform and beamforming for a single-input single-output (SISO) WPT system with nonlinear energy harvesting. The algorithm takes into account the complexities of real-world channels, including large-scale fading and frequency-selective fading.
Simulation results show that the optimized waveform and beamforming design can improve the harvested power at the receiver by up to 10 decibels compared to traditional designs. This is particularly significant for applications where high-power transmission is required, such as charging electric vehicles or powering IoT devices.
The paper’s findings also highlight the potential benefits of using beyond diagonal RISs (BD-RISs), which offer greater flexibility in terms of beamforming and waveform optimization. BD-RISs can be used to adapt to changing channel conditions and optimize energy transfer in real-time, making them an attractive solution for dynamic WPT applications.
Overall, this research demonstrates the importance of considering waveform optimization when designing RIS-aided WPT systems. By carefully designing the waveform and beamforming, researchers can unlock significant improvements in system performance, paving the way for more efficient and reliable wireless power transfer in a variety of applications.
Cite this article: “Optimizing Waveform Design for Improved Wireless Power Transfer Using Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces”, The Science Archive, 2025.
Wireless Power Transfer, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces, Waveform Optimization, Beamforming, Nonlinear Energy Harvesting, Single-Input Single-Output, Semi-Definite Programming, Channel Fading, Iot Devices, Electric Vehicles
