Design of a Compact Broadband Metamaterial Absorber with Wide-Angle Reception and Polarization-Insensitive for Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting in Wireless Sensor Network Applications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22153/kej.2026.12.014Keywords:
Broadband; Metamaterial absorber; Polarization-insensitive; RF electromagnetic energy harvesting; Wide-angle reception; Wireless sensor network (WSN)Abstract
This work introduces a novel design of a compact broadband metamaterial (MM) absorber with polarization-insensitive, wide-angle reception for ambient electromagnetic (EM) power harvesting applications. The proposed MM unit cell consists of two layers of low-cost FR-4 substrate. The top layer contains a resonator structure and four lumped resistors. A copper sheet, serving as a ground plane, is placed on the backside of the bottom layer to reduce transmission losses. The top and bottom layers are separated by a thin air layer to enhance absorption at operational frequencies. The overall size of the MM unit cell is 12×12×4.57 mm³, with measurements of 0.16λ₀×0.16λ₀×0.06λ₀ at the lowest frequency in the absorption spectrum. The unit cell’s input impedance is carefully engineered to align with that of free space, an approach facilitating efficient EM power absorption and suitable redirection to resistive loads. The absorber’s performance is assessed for different polarization and incident angles for transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes. The simulation results indicate that the introduced absorber attains broadband absorption, surpassing 90% in the frequency range of 4 GHz to 7 GHz. Moreover, the MM unit cell achieves harvesting efficiency above 80% under normal incidence and continues to exhibit outstanding performance over different incidence angles for the TE and TM modes. This study substantially improves MM-based energy harvesting through integrating wide-angle reception, high-absorption broadband, compact size, and polarization insensitivity, which make it an ideal option for supplying energy to wireless sensor networks.
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