Method and apparatus for measuring radio-frequency energy

摘要

A method and apparatus is disclosed herein for measuring radio-frequency energy. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises one or more antennas, a wideband radio frequency detector (e.g., a logarithmic amplifier (LogAmp)) coupled to the one or more antennas to measure ambient RF energy, wherein the wideband radio frequency detector has an analog output indicative of RF input power received by the one or more antennas, and an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the wideband radio frequency detector to convert the analog output to a digital value, the digital value being applied to a calibration function, to provide a number representing RF energy.

主权项

1. An ambient radio-frequency (RF) energy measurement apparatus for measuring energy available for RF harvesting at a particular location, the apparatus comprising:
a plurality of antennas; at least one wideband radio frequency detector coupled to the plurality of antennas to measure ambient RF energy, wherein each wideband radio frequency detector has an analog output indicative of RF input power received by the plurality of antennas; at least one analog-to-digital converter coupled to each wideband radio frequency detector to convert the analog output to a digital value; a spectrum analyzer coupled to the plurality of antennas through an RF multiplexer to perform an RF frequency measurement; a Wi-Fi sniffer to confirm presence of Wi-Fi traffic within data measured by the spectrum analyzer and the at least one wideband radio frequency detector; and a controller coupled to the spectrum analyzer and the at least one wideband radio frequency detector to generate an output indicative of ambient RF energy available for RF harvesting based on data from the spectrum analyzer and the at least one wideband radio frequency detector, wherein each digital value is applied to a calibration function to provide a number representing RF energy available at a particular location.