Overview of Powercast's RF-based wireless power technology and applications.

1. RF Energy Harvesting and Wireless Power
for Low-Power Applications
Emerging P2100 TX91501 P2110 P2110
Technology Powerharvester® Powercaster® Powerharvester® Powerharvester®
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation
April 6 2012 1

2. Powercast Technology Overview
• Micro-power over distance using common radio waves
– Microwatts (µW) to low milliwatts (mW)
• Micro-power is useful for: RF Source
Powercast Enabled
– Trickle-charging batteries Devices
– Powering battery-free devices
• Received power is determined by multiple factors:
– Power of RF source
– Distance from RF source
– Size / performance of receiving antenna
– Transmission frequency (e.g. 915MHz)
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 2

3. Why RF-based Wireless Power?
Industrial Minimizes Operating Costs
 Eliminates cost to hard wire or replace batteries – e.g. wireless sensors
 Eliminates service downtime caused by depleted batteries
 Reduces battery handling and disposal
OEMs Improved Product Design
 Sealed devices – less expensive enclosures and manufacturing
 Embedded power – eliminate wires, cables, connectors
 Reliability – improved durability, reduced product failures, eliminate ESD
End-Users Convenience and Usability
 Placement flexibility – no charging mats or charging stations
 Transparent charging – no user action required
 Embedded power – eliminate wires, cables, connectors
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 3

4. Perspective: Communication vs. Power
RF Sensitivity of Wireless Devices
Power Requirement
mA Communication
uA Wake-up Receiver
0 - nA Power Harvesting
-100 -75 -50 -25 0
Input Power (dBm)
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 4

5. RF Power Sources
Intentional Anticipated Unknown
?
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 5

6. Average Power Consumption
Recommended Power Profiles
Recommended Profiles for
RF-based Wireless Power
Low-power
Wireless
Sensors
Hours Days Weeks Months Years
Battery Run Time
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 6

7. Full Suite of Wireless RF Solutions
Powerharvesters RF
• Modules Transmitters
• Chipset
• License
Evaluation Engineering
Boards Services
Development Kits
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 7

8. Powercast Technology Advantages
80
 High efficiency over a broad range
70
 Load resistance
RF to DC Conversion Efficiency
60
 Input power
50
 Recharging current 40
(%)
 No Maximum Power Point Tracking 30
(MPPT) required 20
Example of other solutions
10
 Over 850 MHz operating bandwidth 0
 Essential for ambient energy harvesting -5 0 5
Input Power (dBm)
10 15 20
 Easy scalability for geographic regions P2110 Harvester Efficiency
-3dBm (500uW) Input, 1V Load
using different frequencies 1.2 1.2
Normalized Efficiency
1.0 1
Normalized Efficiency
 Result … 0.8 0.8
 Better performance
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4
 More power 0.2 0.2
 Simplified design-in 0 0
500
500 700
700
900
900
1100
1100
1300
1300
1500
1500
1700
1700
Frequency (MHz)
Frequency (MHz)
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 8

9. Powerharvester® Receivers
Low Volume Applications and Prototyping
 Convert RF input to DC current
Power
 Power/charge management RF
I/O
 Frequency range: 850-950MHz
 RSSI and Data output RF
Power
I/O
 Designed for standard 50Ω antennas Capacitor
P1110 P2110
Continuous Power Output Pulsed Power Output
• RF range: -5.0dBm to 20dBm • RF range: -11.5dBm to 15dBm
• Output voltage: 1.8V to 4.2V • Output voltage: 1.8V to 5.25V
(configurable) (configurable and regulated)
• Range of at least 3 meters • Range of at least 10 meters
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 9

10. Powerharvester® Performance Comparison
80
RF-to-DC Conversion Efficiency (%)
P1110 - 915MHz, 3V
70
P2110 - 915MHz, 1.05V Power
60
50
40
30
20
10
Distance
0
-12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Input Power (dBm)
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 10

11. Bandwidth Increases with Received Power
P2110 Harvester Efficiency
-3dBm (500uW) Input, 1V Load
1.2
1
Normalized Efficiency
0.8
0.6 ±20% over 850MHz
0.4
0.2
0
500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700
Frequency (MHz)
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 11

12. Powerharvester® Chipset / Reference Design
High Volume Applications
 Flexible implementation
 Output from 2 to 5V (higher with custom design)
 Wide tunable range: 1MHz to 6GHz
 RF harvesting down to around -12dBm input
 Same performance as P1110 / P2110
 Estimated BOM: $5-6 @ 3K, $3-5 @100K, <$2 @1M+
 Reference designs available for license
RF Harvesting Circuit
• Powercast chipset (3 custom ICs)
• 20-25 other discrete components
• Small footprint: 0.2 in2 / 1.3 cm2
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 12

13. TX91501 Powercaster® Transmitter
6.25” width • 915 MHz center frequency
• FCC and IC certified
• RoHS compliant
• DSSS modulation (power)
• ASK modulation (data)
6.75” • 1W or 3W EIRP
height
– TX91501-1W-ID
– TX91501-3W-ID
• ~60 beam pattern
• Data broadcast (factory-set)
• Plug-and-play installation
1.63” depth • Powers virtually unlimited
number of Powerharvesters
Power Jacks (2) – 5V Status Indicator LED
Back – for tabletop placement Green – Transmitting • Design available for license
Bottom – for wall mounting Red – Fault Condition
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 13

14. Lifetime Power® Development Kits
P2110-EVAL-01 P2110-EVAL-02
 Complete system for battery-free  Complete system for wireless battery
wireless applications charging
 Jointly developed with Microchip  Developed in conjunction with Infinite
 Designed for wireless sensing applications Power Solutions
using MiWi protocol  Features IPS THINERGY® Energy Cell
• RF Transmitter (TX91501) • RF Transmitter (TX91501)
• (2) P2110 Evaluation Boards (P2110-EVB) • P2110 Evaluation Boards (P2110-EVB)
• (2) 6dBi Directional Antennas • 6dBi Directional Antenna
• 1dBi Omni-directional Antenna
• (2) 1dBi Omni-directional Antennas
• Battery Charging Board (BAT-EVAL-01)
• (2) Wireless Sensor Boards (WSN-EVAL-01) • THINERGY® Micro-Energy Cell Evaluation Card
• Microchip 16-bit XLP Development Board • Cable for connecting to THINERGY® ADP
• Microchip MRF24J40 PICtail/PICtail Plus • TI eZ430-RF2500 Wireless Development Tool
daughter card
• Microchip PIC-kit 3 programmer/debugger
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 14

15. Intentional Transmitter Power
uW Available Power Before Conversion (Estimated)
180
160
140
120
100
80 3W EIRP Transmitter
915MHz
60 6 dBi
Receiver
40 Antenna
20
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance (meters)
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 15

16. Intentional Transmitter Coverage
Coverage Area – 3W transmitter (TX91501)
@ 60 feet ≈ 1900 ft2
@ 80 feet ≈ 3300 ft2
Average ≈ 2500 ft2
60 ft 80 ft
Effective
range
increases with
improved RF
sensitivity of
the receiver
and antenna
performance
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 16

17. Ambient Wi-Fi Power
uW
400 Available Power Before Conversion (Estimated)
350
300 50mW
250
200 0 dBi
150 6 dBi
~4uW Receiver
100 Antenna
50
0
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Distance (meters)
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 17

18. Applications: High-Function RFID
Harvest additional RF power for enhanced functionality
• Identification
• Sensors
• ePaper display RFID Sensor Tags
• Battery charging
• Low-power radio
RFID • LEDs
Reader • Buzzer
High-Function Tag
ePaper Signs / Labels
Powercast receivers provides 10X the power vs. traditional RFID chips
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 18

19. Applications: Wireless Sensors
Building Automation Structural Monitoring Defense Data Centers
Security Industrial Monitoring Energy Management Smart Grid
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 19

20. Applications: Bulk Trickle Charging
 Freedom of placement
 Eliminate wires and connectors
 Automatic/transparent charging
 Multiple battery types/chemistry
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 20

21. Applications: Consumer Electronics
Mice / Keyboards Game Controllers Media Remotes
Audio / Headsets Health / Fitness Low-power Displays
mWs to 3ft / >100uW to 10ft
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 21

22. Wireless Power Calculator
• Quick Power
Estimates
• Available
Online
• Simple to Use
http://www.powercastco.com/power-calculator/
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 22

23. For More Information
www.powercastco.com
www.powercastco.com
©2012 Powercast Corporation 23