FRI-H-2

Magnetically Coupled Resonant Wireless Power

Transmission Systems with Relay Elements
Marco Dionigi, Mauro Mongiardo
Universit degli studi di Perugia DIEI, via G. Duranti 93, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Email: marco.dionigi@diei.unipg.it, mongiardo@diei.unipg.it

Abstract—Electromagnetic Wireless Power Transmission

(WPT) can be realized by using resonant coils coupled via
their magnetic fields; in order to extend the range for power
transmission, it is convenient to introduce additional relay
elements. By considering a simple, yet rigorous, equivalent
network, we derive a general property which is useful for the
design of wireless power transfer networks with relay elements.
A test system is designed, simulated and measured to show the
validity of the proposed procedure.
Index Terms—wireless energy transfer, wireless power trans-
mission, magnetic coupling, circuit matching, resonators.

I. I NTRODUCTION

Recently, magnetically coupled resonators have been con-

sidered for realizing wireless energy transfer, sometimes re- Fig. 1. Five resonators arranged in line. Each resonator is modeled by an
impedance, while the coupling between resonators is modeled by immittance
ferred to as wireless electricity (WiTricity) or wireless resonant inverters. In this arrangement it is assumed that only adjacent resonators
power transfer [1], [2], [3]. While the idea of using this couple to each other.
mechanism for energy transfer was already introduced by Tesla
[4], its practical application is still under development. The
work of [1], [2], [3] has stimulated several investigations: in
[5] wireless electricity and its application to medical sensors
and implantable devices has been considered. Another type Z1 Z2 Zi Z i+1 Z 2n Z 2n+1
K12 K i,i+1 K 2n,2n+1

of application has been investigated in [6], in order to apply Inverter Inverter Inverter

wireless power transfer to Electric Vehicles (EVs); in fact, the

use of WiTricity provides a safe and convenient way to charge
the EVs.
It has been noted in [7], [8], [9], [10] that the case of mag-
netically coupled resonant coils for wireless energy transfer is
amenable of a network description. Moreover, in [10], it has
also been observed that additional, passive, resonators (relay
elements) may help in extending the range. However, so far,
little material exists on how to design networks with relay
elements.
In this work, in particular, we consider a system made
by a certain number of resonators, all operating at the same
frequency and placed inline, modeled according to the de-
scription given in [11], [12], as a series of impedances (the
resonators) coupled by K-inverters. We show that, a lossless
symmetrical system with an even number of K-inverters, is
always matched at the resonant frequency. On the other hand,
a lossless symmetrical network with an odd number of K-
inverters can be matched at resonant frequency by suitably
choosing the first and last inverter.
Fig. 2. Equivalent network of the inline wireless resonant energy link
configuration. We consider a narrowband network model using impedance
inverters; the coupling Ki,i+1 represent the coupling between the resonators
i and i + 1. Each resonator is represented with a series RLC circuit.
II. ANALYSYS OF COUPLED RESONATORS
SYSTEMS
We consider a system of 2N + 1 resonators, placed inline,
with 2N couplings, i.e. assuming that only adjacent resonators
are coupled. It is possible to show that the corresponding
equivalent network is the one described in Fig.2.
The resonators are assumed to be synchronous, with the
same resonant frequency ωo . Each resonator Zi (i=1, 2,...,
2N+1) is identified by its quality factor Qi , its resonant
frequency ωo = √L1 C , and the resonator reactance slope
i i

978-1-4673-1780-1/12/$31.00 ©2012 IEEE 223 IMWS-IWPT2012 Proceedings

 q
Li
parameter χi = Ci ,
as follows:
   
ω ωo 1 0
Z i = χi j − + . (1)
ωo ω Qi
-20
If we assume that the resonators are lossless, their
impedance at the resonant frequency becomes zero and we 3 res.
-40
have a network composed only by impedance inverters, as

dB
shown in Fig. 2 with all the impedances replaced by short
-60
circuits. 7 res.
Let us also assume that the structure is symmetrycal; this 5 res.
-80
means
-100
Kj,j+1 = K2N +1−j,2N +2−j (2) 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10

Frequency (MHz)
The impedance inverter’s values are related to the mutual
inductance Li,i+1 in the standard way:
Fig. 3. S parameters response of a 3, 5, 7 resonator circuits, with resonators
p placed at a distance D equal to the diameter (D=70mm). Frequency has been
Ki,i+1 = ωLi,i+1 = ωki,i+1 Li Li+1 (3) normalized with respect to the resonant frequency which is 80 MHz.

A. Even number of K-inverters

Let us now consider the case of N=1, where only two B. Odd number of K-inverters
identical impedance inverters are present. Since the ABCD When considering a symmetrical network with an odd
matrix of a impedance inverter can be written as: number of impedance inverters we obtain, in general, a relation
  of the following type:
0 −jK
−j (4)
K 0    
0 −jK1 0 −jK 0 −jK1
we have for the ABCD matrix of the cascade of impedance −j −j −j =
K1 0 0 K1 0
inverters the following expression: "K (8)
jK12
#
0 K
= jK .
     K12
0
−1 0 0 −jK 0 −jK
= −j −j . (5) It is apparent that, by cascading three impedance invert-
0 −1 K 0 K 0
ers we have obtained another impedance inverter of value
By transforming the ABCD matrix to the scattering matrix, −K12 /K ; in addition, by selecting K12 = K one can recover
and by considering S21 , we obtain: the matched case. Reasoning by induction it is therefore
 √ 2 possible to prove that also for an odd number of impedance
2  2 Rs RL 
inverters it is always possible to have the network matched at
|S21 | = 
  (6)
A · Rs + B + C · Rs RL + D · Rs  the resonant frequency.
that, for our system,with Rs = RL = 1, provides total energy
III. RESULTS
transmission.
Let us now consider the system with N=2, i.e. 5 resonators In order to test the theory both theoretical and experimental
and 4 impedance inverters; since the two central inverters have results have been produced. In Fig. 3 we have considered an
already been considered we can simply add other two inverters, odd number of resonators placed at a distance D (with D being
obtaining: the resonator diameter) from each other; since the resonators
are inline, the case of 3 resonators correspond to just one
    relay element and to a distance of 2D between the transmitting
0 −jK −1 0 0 −jK
−j = and receiving resonators. Naturally, the case with 7 resonators
K 0 0 −1  −j
K 0
(7) corresponds to a distance of 6D between the transmitting and
1 0
= . receiving resonators. We can note that, since the coupling
0 1
between the resonators does not change, the badwidth for the
The above identity matrix proves that the network is various cases (3, 5, 7 resonators) remains the same.
matched. Naturally, by adding further impedance inverters we Let us now consider the case when we take into account
obtain again the identity matrix with alternating signs. This all the couplings and also the losses, as reported in Fig. 4.
proves, by induction, that a lossless, symmetrical, network with It is possible to note the presence of a transmission zero and
an even number of impedance inverters is always matched at a slight degradation of the results due to the losses, but the
the resonant frequency. general behavior remains unchanged. In Fig. 5 it is possible to

224 IMWS-IWPT2012 Proceedings

 TABLE I
S YMMETRICAL STRUCTURE R ESONATOR POSITIONS AS MULTIPLE OF THE
DIAMETER
0
No.Res. Res.1 Res.2 Res.3 Res.4 Res.5 Res.6 Res.7
-20
3 0 6D 14 D
5 0 2D 6D 10 D 14 D
7 0 1D 3D 6D 9D 11 D 14 D
-40
dB

-60
10
|S11| Loss full Coupl
-80 |S21| Loss full Coupl 0
|S11| No Loss neigh. Coupl
|S21| No Loss neigh. Coupl -10
-100
0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10 -20
Frequency (MHz)
-30

dB
-40
7 Res.
Fig. 4. Comparison of S parameters of uniform distributed 5 resonator circuit
including losses in the inductors loop and mutual coupling between loops. The -50
resonators have a Q factor of about 540. Frequency is normalized with respect 5 Res.
to the resonant frequency of 80 MHz. -60

3 Res.
-70
78.50 78.75 79.00 79.25 79.50 79.75 80.00

Frequency (MHz)
10

0
Fig. 6. S parameters response for a symmetrical network with 3, 5, 7
-10
resonators; their distances are given in table I. The resonator diameter are
-20 D= 64mm, and their Q factors are 540.
S Parameters (dB)

-30

-40

-50 take into account all the mutual coupling between resonators
-60
and the lossess as well, we obtain the results shown in Fig. 7,
-70
Measured
where we can note a degradation of the response due to the
-80
Simulated losses and the presence of a transmission zero due to the extra
-90
coupling.
-100
The case of an odd number of K-inverters is considered in
50 60 70 80 90

Frequency (MHz)
Fig. 5. Comparison between measured and simulated results for the case of
five resonators. The loops’ diameter is 74 mm, the capacitance value is 33
pF, the distances between the loops is 70 mm, and source and load resistance
are of 50 Ohms.
compare, for the case of 5 resonators (with the experimental
setup shown in Fig.1), measured and simulated results, also
including losses. It is interesting to note that, since the last
two resonators are closed on the reference impedance, the
corresponding resonances are lost (in fact, in Fig. 4 even
if there are 5 resonators only 3 resonances are visible). In
addition, in Fig. 4, it is also possible to observe from the
simulated results a transmission zero which take into account
the non-adjacent coupling.
It is also interesting to consider the case with a fixed
distance between the first and last resonators, while adding
more relay elements in between as shown in Fig. 6. It is
possible to observe that by using more resonators the coupling
is increased and the operating bandwidth is enlarged. Again,
at center frequency, total transmission takes place. When we
Fig.8 from which it is possible to see that a good matching is
present at the central (resonant) frequency. It is also apparent
that two poles are present at the resonant frequency and they
occur at the same frequency. It is noted that the optimal
distance, is 1.22528 times the diameter D.
IV. C ONCLUSION
We have found a general property of resonant wireless
power transfer systems with even and odd number or res-
onators, operating at the same frequency and placed inline.
In the case of an even number of couplings, it is sufficient
to consider lossless, symmetrical networks to prove that total
energy transmission takes places at the resonant frequency.
This result only requires symmetry and is valid for whatever
value of the couplings. In the case of odd number of couplings,
it is always possible to adjust the value of the first and
last impedance inverter in order to have a matched network
at the resonant frequency. Naturally, when considering lossy
resonators we have a degradation of the energy transmission,
but good matching at the resonant frequency is still present.
We have also seen from simulations that when considering
a system with N resonators we have N matched frequencies;
in addition the coupling between the resonators determines the

225 IMWS-IWPT2012 Proceedings

 [5] Fei Zhang, Xiaoyu Liu, S.A. Hackworth, R.J. Sclabassi, Mingui
Sun, “In vitro and in vivo studies on wireless powering of
medical sensors and implantable devices, Life Science Systems
0 and Applications Workshop, 2009. LiSSA 2009. IEEE/NIH,
Bethesda, MD, 9-10 April 2009, pp. 84 - 87.
-20 [6] Takehiro Imura, Hiroyuki Okabe, Yoichi Hori, “Basic Experi-
mental Study on Helical Antennas of Wireless Power Transfer
-40 for Electric Vehicles by using Magnetic Resonant Couplings,
Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference, 2009.IEEE Pages
936-940.
dB

-60
[7] M. Mongiardo, C. Tomassoni, P. Russer, R. Sorrentino, “Rigor-
|S11| Lossy full Coup ous Computer-Aided Design of Spherical Dielectric Resonators
-80
|S21| Lossy full Coup for Wireless Non-Radiative Energy Transfer, MTT-S Interna-
|S11| No Loss full Coup tional Microwave Symposium, Boston, USA, 2009.
-100 |S21| No Loss full Coup
|S11| No Loss neigh. Coup
[8] M. Dionigi, M. Mongiardo, R. Sorrentino and C. Tomas-
|S21| No Loss neigh. Coup soni, “Networks Methods for Wireless Resonant Energy Links
-120 (WREL) Computations, ICEAA, Turin, Italy, 2009.
77.0 77.5 78.0 78.5 79.0 79.5 80.0
[9] M. Dionigi, M. Mongiardo, “CAD of wireless resonant en-
Frequency (MHz) ergy links (WREL) realized by coils, MTT-S International
Microwave Symposium, Anaheim, CA , USA, pp. 1760 - 1763,
2010.
Fig. 7. Comparison of S parameters of symmetrical 7 resonator circuit [10] M. Dionigi, P. Mezzanotte, M. Mongiardo, “Computational
including losses in the inductors loop and mutual coupling between loops. Modeling of RF Wireless Resonant Energy Links (WREL)
Coils–based Systems, Aces, Tampere, Finland, April 25–29,
2010.
[11] M. Dionigi , M. Mongiardo, “CAD of Efficient Wireless
Power Transmission systems,”in Microwave Symposium Digest
0 (MTT), 2011 IEEE MTT-S International, pp. 1-4.
[12] M. Dionigi, A. Costanzo, M. Mongiardo, “Network Methods for
the Analysis and Design of Resonant Wireless Power Transfer
-20 Systems, Chapter of the book “Wireless Power Transfer - Princi-
ples and Engineering Explorations”, http://www.intechweb.org/,
2012.
-40
4 Res.
dB

-60
6 Res.

-80

-100
0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10

Frequency (MHz)

Fig. 8. Comparison of S parameters for a symmetrical system with an odd

number of K-inverters. Naturally the number of resonators in even and in this
figure the cases of 4 and 6 resonators are reported. Frequency is normalized
with respect to the resonant frequency of 80 MHz.

position of the matched frequencies. Strong coupling give rise

to a relatively wide bandwidth, while weak coupling provides
a narrow bandwidth. The obtained results shows that a system
realized with the resonators typically used for wireless power
transfer behaves as an artificial transmission line.

R EFERENCES

[1] J. S. Hong, J.D. Joannopoulos, A. Karalis, M. Soljacic, “Wire-

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non-radiative mid-range energy transfer, Annals of Physics,
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[3] A. Kurs, A. Karalis, R. Moffatt, J. D. Joannopoulos, P. Fisher,
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Magnetic Resonances, Science, 317, pp. 83-86, 2007.
[4] N. Tesla, “Apparatus for transmitting electrical energy, US
patent number 1,119,732, issued in December 1914.

226 IMWS-IWPT2012 Proceedings