265 5 GHz RF-DC Rectifier
265 : 5 GHz RF-DC Rectifier
- Author: Carlos Knebel
- Description: Differential RF-DC rectifier in Sky130 for passive RFID / RF energy harvesting experiments.
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5 GHz RF-DC Rectifier
This project implements a differential RF-DC rectifier in SkyWater 130 nm for passive RFID and RF energy harvesting experiments.
Pinout
| Pin | Function |
|---|---|
| ua[0] | RF input negative, in_n |
| ua[1] | Rectified output, VRECT |
| ua[2] | RF input positive, in_p |
| VGND | Circuit ground |
Design summary
The rectifier was designed and simulated using xschem/ngspice and laid out manually in KLayout using SKY130 layers.
Nominal pre-layout simulation condition:
- Frequency: 5.8 GHz
- Available RF power: 5 mW
- Differential source reference: 50 Ω
- Load: 3 kΩ
- NMOS: W=1 µm, L=0.15 µm
- PMOS: W=32 µm, L=0.35 µm, nf=8
- Output capacitor: MIM capacitor, approximately 2 pF
At 5 mW available RF power, schematic simulation produced approximately:
- VRECT ≈ 0.496 V
- Ripple ≈ 9 mVpp
- PDC ≈ 82 µW
- PDC/Pin_abs ≈ 30%
- PDC/Pav ≈ 1.6%
No on-chip RF matching network is included. Matching is intended to be external or determined after characterization.
IO
| # | Input | Output | Bidirectional |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7 |
Analog pins
ua | PCB Pin | Internal index | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | B1 | 7 | RF input negative / in_n |
| 1 | B3 | 9 | Rectified output / VRECT |
| 2 | B2 | 8 | RF input positive / in_p |