Throughput maximizing transmission strategy of energy harvesting nodes

Abstract

We investigate the throughput maximizing data transmission strategy of an energy harvesting node which is able to harvest and store energy for communication. Solar cell and rechargeable battery technologies have made such nodes feasible. In addition to the energy arrival process and the battery capacity limitation, the energy consumption of the circuits of the node also plays an important role in the way how the harvested energy should be utilized. To this end, we assume for the transmitting node an active mode for which a constant circuit power is incurred, and a sleep mode for which no energy is consumed. The criteria that an optimal transmission strategy should satisfy are discussed, and based on them, a construction procedure of the optimal transmission strategy is proposed. Numerical simulations are performed to verify the theoretical results, and the impact of circuit power on the optimal transmission strategy and the maximal achievable throughput is studied.