Omni-directional wideband antenna array with solar cells

Abstract

Distributed sensor networks are becoming more and more widespread due to their substantial benefits to our daily lives. These sensors, in most cases, are distributed in nature and even may require mobility. This, in turn, implies omnidirectional collector units to collect the data from various sensors at arbitrary directions. This work summarizes the performance outcomes of various integrated wide-band antenna structures and solar power generation topologies to achieve equal gain in all directions. Purpose of the array in this instance is contrary to enhance the received signal levels in all directions. Low-cost solutions ranging from the planar helical printed circuit board (PCB) designs to vertical wire helical antennas were investigated. An optimum design structure for multiple ISM bands (868 MHz to 915 MHz) was proposed and characterized considering the cost, size, directional coverage and most significantly RF sensitivity and range of the overall design. The final water-resistant solarpowered wideband transceiver front-end has provided range improvement and omnidirectional radiation pattern. The system consists of a 190mm x 190mm low-cost FR4 substrate and a Wilkinson network to combine the power of 8 helical wire antennas sprinkled along with the solar cells. The self-contained, Sun-powered unit resulted in 4.5-dB sensitivity improvement in measurements.