K-band energy harvesting circuits for satellite application

This paper addresses the design of rectenna circuits for powering autonomous wireless sensors on board of geostationary broadcasting satellites. The electromagnetic environment existing on panels located on the Earth sides of such satellites is first investigated and the feasibility of energy harvesting by using rectennas is discussed. K-band experiments demonstrate that few mW of DC power can be harvested proving thus the feasibility of such energy harvesting in satellite applications for powering autonomous wireless sensors.