Efficiency of Broadband Terahertz Rectennas Based on Self-Switching Nanodiodes

Abstract

The authors investigate the efficiency of a series of broadband rectennas designed to harvest the free-propagating electromagnetic energy at terahertz frequencies. We analyze by simulations the case of self-complementary square- and Archimedean-spiral antennas coupled to L-shaped self-switching diodes (L-SSDs). First, the geometry (i.e., the width and length of the channel) of the L-SSD was optimized to obtain a remarkable diode-like I–V response. Subsequently, the optimized L-SSD geometry was coupled to both types of spiral antennas and their characteristic impedance was studied. Finally, the energy conversion efficiency was evaluated for both rectenna architectures.