Simple self-driven synchronous rectifier for resonant inductive coupling wireless power transfer

Resonant inductive coupling wireless power transfer (RIC-WPT) is attracting attention as a convenient power supply method to small mobile apparatus. The efficiency and the power transfer capability of RIC-WPT has been known to be profoundly dependent on the quality factor of the receiving resonator. However, the quality factor of the receiving resonator tends to be deteriorated because of the conduction loss at the diode rectifier, particularly for low output voltage applications. In order to improve the efficiency and the power transfer capability, this paper propose a novel simple synchronous rectifier, which can reduce the conduction loss. The proposed rectifier has simple circuit configuration, which contributes to straightforward application to the wireless power transfer to small mobile apparatus with limited installation space. Experiment was carried out to verify the operation principle of the proposed rectifier. As a result, the proposed rectifier revealed successful suppression of the conduction loss. In addition, the experimental wireless power transfer system verified successful improvement in the rectification efficiency, supporting usefulness of the proposed rectifier for practical applications of the RIC-WPT for small mobile apparatus.