Systems and methods for battery-less wirelessly powered dielectric sensors
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsAydin BabakhanI, Yuxiang Sun
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Abstract
Wirelessly powered dielectric sensor in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In many embodiments, a wirelessly powered dielectric sensor includes an RF-power receiving antenna that receives electromagnetic power, a power management unit (PMU) including a capacitor to rectify and store the electromagnetic power, and a dielectric constant sensing sensor, where the PMU monitors harvested energy and operates the dielectric sensing sensor; and where the dielectric sensing sensor senses a dielectric constant of a material that is in close proximity.
Claims20
A wirelessly powered dielectric sensor, comprising:
- an RF-power receiving antenna that receives electromagnetic power;
- a power management unit (PMU) comprising a first capacitor to rectify and store the electromagnetic power;
- and
- a dielectric constant sensing sensor comprising an oscillator comprising a second capacitor and an inductor;
- wherein the PMU monitors harvested energy and operates the dielectric sensing sensor;
- wherein the dielectric sensing sensor senses a dielectric constant of a material that is in close proximity by capacitance change of the second capacitor, and which sensed capacitance change of the second capacitor produces a shift in the oscillation frequency of the oscillator.
A method for wirelessly powering a dielectric sensor, comprising
- receiving electromagnetic power using an RF-power receiving antenna;
- rectifying and storing the electromagnetic power using a first capacitor included in a power management unit (PMU);
- sensing a dielectric constant using a dielectric constant sensing sensor comprising an oscillator comprising a second capacitor and an inductor;
- wherein the PMU monitors harvested energy and operates the dielectric sensing sensor;
- wherein the dielectric sensing sensor senses a dielectric constant of a material that is in close proximity by capacitance change of the second capacitor, and which sensed capacitance change of the second capacitor produces a shift in the oscillation frequency of the oscillator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.