volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

Due to urgent needs for exploring new energy resources, a novel approach is developed in this paper to integrate the functions of a photovoltaic (PV) panel with an ultra-wide band (UWB) antenna array as a unit for collecting solar energy and RF radiation power. The UWB antenna is printed on the front panel of the PV surface. The antenna structure is customized with minimum shadowing effects on the PV surface, by using eight monopoles connected to one SMA port as a single antenna array. Then, to ensure the bandwidth enhancement, each monopole is coupled to three Split Ring Resonators (SRR) structured in a single column as a matching circuit. Next, an experimental study is performed to investigate the amount of the harvested energy from both the PV and the antenna array. The antenna experimental measurements are conducted to realize the I-V characteristics for the PV and produced output voltage and efficiency from the RF radiation power at 900 MHz only. Numerically, the proposed antenna array performance is simulated by CST MWS and HFSS software packages. Finally, the antenna performance in terms of S₁₁ and the radiation pattern at 900 MHz are measured and compared to the simulated results to end up with excellent agreements.

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Dr. Yasir Al-Adhami

Dr. Ergun Erçelebi