Implementation of a Misalignment-Tolerant MIMO Near Field Wireless Power Transfer System

Abstract

The efficiency of reactive near-field wireless power transfer (WPT) systems degrades rapidly with increasing separation distance and is highly sensitive to misalignment between transmitting and receiving coils. These limitations restrict the mobility of powered devices and confine many near-field WPT applications to static scenarios. To address these challenges, a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) WPT configuration is investigated due to its capability to shape the magnetic field distribution between the transmitter and receiver. Maximum power transfer efficiency can be achieved by appropriately setting the amplitude and phase of each transmitting coil; however, determining these optimal settings requires accurate knowledge of the system's S-parameters. This paper presents the use of the Nelder-Mead iterative optimization algorithm to estimate the input amplitude and phase settings that maximize transfer efficiency in a near-field WPT system. The implementation comprises a four-element transmitter and a two-element receiver. Based on measured S-parameters, the proposed approach significantly improves WPT efficiency under both aligned and misaligned conditions.