Implementation of a Misalignment-Tolerant MIMO Near Field Wireless Power Transfer System
For wireless power transfer applications, this work provides a practical method to enhance efficiency and tolerance to misalignment, though it is an incremental application of an existing optimization algorithm.
This paper addresses the degradation of near-field WPT efficiency due to misalignment and distance, using a MIMO configuration with a Nelder-Mead algorithm to optimize coil inputs. The approach significantly improves efficiency under both aligned and misaligned conditions based on measured S-parameters.
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.