A 29.5 GHz Rectifier with 14.5 dB Dynamic Power Range for Energy Harvester Using Vertical Nanowire Tunnel FETs

To extend the output DC power range of energy harvester from µW to mW, the 29.5 GHz rectifier using vertical nanowire Tunnel Field-Effect Transistor (VNW-TFET) is presented in this paper. Advantaged by the low threshold voltage, very steep characteristics, and its ability to operate below 60mV/decade, VNW-TFET is a promising device in rectifier design for low power applications. By analyzing the relation of the number of nanowires in VNW-TFET and its DC characteristic, the rectification efficiency of the proposed design is approximately 20.1% at the input power of 132 µW. Moreover, its peak efficiency is 49.2% at 20 mW, and the input power range for rectification efficiency higher than 40% is between 1.2 dBm and 15.7 dBm when the number of nanowires in VNW-TFET is 20.