RECTENNAS DESIGN BASED ON AN ANTIPODAL VIVALDI ANTENNA
Several studies aim to improve the efficiency in the use of Radio Frequency (RF) electromagneticenergy available in the environment, where, by using a rectenna, it is possible to convert RF energy into Direct Current (DC) energy, eliminating, for example, the use of batteries in low power electronic system. In this context, this work proposes to design and analyze the performance of the Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna (AVA) for applications in RF energy harvesting. In this context, it was proposed to design an Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna with Elliptical Slots (AVA-ES) and a AVA-ES Rectenna (RAVA-ES), in order to improve the performance of the AVA antenna and the AVA Rectenna (RAVA), both fabricated using low-cost FR-4 substrate. All prototypes have presented satisfactory performance, confirming the proposal of this work. Additionally, it was proposed an array of two AVA and another array of two AVA-ES for future applications as rectennas.