RF Energy Harvesting Techniques for Battery-less Wireless Sensing, Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things: A Review

As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand, the demand for the use of energy-efficient circuits and battery-less devices has grown rapidly. Battery-less operation, zero maintenance and sustainability are the desired features of IoT devices in fifth generation (5G) networks and green Industry 4.0 wireless systems. The integration of energy harvesting systems, IoT devices and 5G networks has the potential impact to digitalize and revolutionize various industries such as Industry 4.0, agriculture, food, and healthcare, by enabling real-time data collection and analysis, mitigating maintenance costs, and improving efficiency. Energy harvesting plays a crucial role in envisioning a low-carbon Net Zero future and holds significant political importance. This survey aims at providing a comprehensive review on various energy harvesting techniques including radio frequency (RF), multi-source hybrid and energy harvesting using additive manufacturing technologies. However, special emphasis is given to RF-based energy harvesting methodologies tailored for battery-free wireless sensing, and powering autonomous low-power electronic circuits and IoT devices. The key design challenges and applications of energy harvesting techniques, as well as the future perspective of System on Chip (SoC) implementation, data digitization in Industry 4.0, next-generation IoT devices, and 5G communications are discussed.