5.8 GHz energy harvesting of space based solar power using inkjet printed circuits on a transparent substrate

Abstract

Space-based solar power satellites can be used to gather solar energy in space and beam it on Earth through microwaves. Developing inexpensive ground stations to harvest microwave energy and to convert it into usable power without affecting the use of land for agriculture will make this technology more affordable and non intrusive. To this end, we present a working design for transparent fabricated, 5.8 GHz rectennas using a modified off-the-shelf desktop ink-jet printer. Preliminary low power tests show the ability of the prototypes to convert microwaves into sufficient DC power to turn on an LED; moreover, the verified substrate transparency to ultraviolet radiations suggests the possibility of deploying ground stations above land usable for agriculture.