Radio-Frequency Energy Harvesting Technology for Future Communication Systems

The research of the sixth generation (6G) cellular network aims at much higher spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE) and would lead to both architectural and component design changes. Over the last decade, simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) has become a practical and promising solution for connecting and recharging battery limited devices due to significant advances in low-power electronics technology and wireless communications techniques. To realize the promised potentials, advanced resource allocation design plays a decisive role in revealing, understanding, and exploiting the intrinsic rate-energy tradeoff capitalizing on the dual use of radio frequency (RF) signals for wireless charging and communication. This article describes the potential integration of radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting technology into 6G cellular network and constitutes an energy harvesting cellular communication system which is expected with much improved EE and prolonged lifetime of user devices, and further discusses its main challenges, design issues and key technologies of energy harvesting communications.