Effects of Different Modulation Techniques on Charging Time in RF Energy-Harvesting System

Radio-frequency (RF) energy harvesting is a promising technology that obtains energy from electromagnetic waves. As an alternative energy source, this modern technology can provide power wirelessly enabling the practical use of battery-free devices and it is also expected to be widely used in future applications. Many studies have examined the effects of different modulation techniques on power or efficiency in RF energy-harvesting systems. In this article, the effects of different modulation techniques, such as amplitude shift keying (ASK), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), phase-shift keying (PSK), and frequency shift keying (FSK) on charging time, were measured and theoretically analyzed in detail. The measurement system was designed using a signal generator, an RF energy-harvesting circuit, and other auxiliary devices. The signal generator produced four different modulated signals as transmit power signals from 1 to 10 dBm at the interval of 1 dBm, and then, the RF energy-harvesting circuit was fed with these power signals. According to the measurement results, four different modulation techniques charged the RF energy-harvesting circuit at different times. It was observed that the 4-ASK modulation technique had the shortest charging time in the range of 1-10 dBm when comparing to QAM, PSK, and FSK modulation techniques, and thus, it was evaluated to be the most suitable modulation technique for the RF energy-harvesting system among these modulation techniques in terms of charging time.