2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)
The Wireless Energy Transfer Recharging System
Based on The Ultra-High Frequency by Using Yagi-
Uda Directional Antenna
Sunarno1*, Fahmy Rinanda Saputri2, Memory Motivanisman Waruwu3, Rony Wijaya4
1,2,3
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering
Physics, Universitas Gadjah Mada,
Jl. Grafika 2, Sleman, D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
1
sunarno@ugm.ac.id
2 4
fahmyrs@yahoo.com
3
morymw@gmail.com
Abstract—In the near future, the Wireless Energy Transfer
(WET) will be widely used, especially for electronics recharging in
the human organ implantations. WET has been researched
intensively by some researchers, but the low efficient energy
transfer is still a problem. In order to figure out the efficiency of
the energy transfer, the experiment had been conducted in
Laboratory of Sensor and Telecontrol Systems. The complexities
of the measurement system setup and assessment of the sufficient
energy both transmitter and receiver will also be discussed. The
experiment results deliver the new design of the WET, empiric
data of the energy transfer, and the sufficient antenna model as
well. In this research, The UHF transmitter generated radio
frequency with output energy of 39.00-watt energy source. The
range of various frequencies in this paper is 400 MHz to 489 MHz
and the SWR is 1.2. The transmitter unit and the antenna were
connected with the 50 ohm-coaxial cable. In order to transfer the
energy, the transmitter system consisting Yagi-Uda model
antenna was applied. The results show that the efficiency
maximum of the measured energy transfer is 0.36%. In our
investigations, the efficiency of the result also depends on the
polarity of the Yagi-Uda Antenna used in the experiment.
According to the results, the angle that the maximum energy
transferred is 60°, on the contrary, the angle of 150° gives the
lowest efficiency results. We found that the distance between the
transmitter and receiver antenna contribute significantly to the
amount of energy transferred from the system. In this case, the
energy can be calculated from the current and voltage
measurement. The energy transfer versus distance relationship
shows that a specific trend was obtained. This specific trend seems
are affected by the antenna characters used in the experiment.
Based on the experiment results, the wireless energy transfer
could be done by utilizing UHF radio wave. Even though the
efficiencies were still relatively low, but it can be used for some
specific purposes in the example, in the electronic human organ
implant recharging and applicable for the general electronic
devices in the special areas. This experiment data are very useful
for the scientists, practicing who work in the WET research field.
Keywords— wireless energy transfer; ultra-high frequency;
electronic human organ implant; radio transmitter; antenna
978-1-5386-1874-5/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
4
Production House Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas
Gadjah Mada,
Jl. Farmako No. 2 Sekip Utara, Sleman, D.I. Yogyakarta,
Indonesia
rwijaya80@gmail.com
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, Wireless Energy Transfer (WET) has been
researched. A wet system has more advantage than transferring
energy using wires, like flexibility and enjoyable. Utilizing
WET system for transferring energy will not be dependent with
limited wires. A wet system is a promising technology that
could be applied in many fields, such as instrumentation,
medical, also in communication. In addition, WET could be
used in an extreme location like in nuclear radiation field and
the human body as an implant. Although experimenting about
energy transfer based on wireless is widely done, but the low
efficient energy is still a problem.
Sunarno’s experiment has been successful to transfer energy
using the microwave (MW) in ultra-high frequency [1]. Thus,
Wenzheng Xu, et. al have been proven that WET method could
be used for smartphones battery charging [2]. Moreover, the
experiment on wireless energy transfer has been popular in
many fields, such as for the utilization of biomedical devices
[3]-[8], smartphone battery charging [2], vehicle charging [9],
and wireless communication [10], [11].
In this research, we consider using the Ultra High Frequency
(UHF) band for energy transfer. The Yagi-Uda antenna as a
one-direction transmitter. The receiver unit is the antenna with
the electronic circuit that able to accept energy from the
transmitter unit. Position and distance of the antenna have been
measured and analyzed in this research.
This paper was organized as follows. Section II describes
the background of the study is discussed. Section III identifies
the method of experimental design. Section IV discusses
proposed method and findings of the analysis. Finally, section
V concludes the paper.
II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
A. Wireless Energy Transfer
Wireless Energy Transfer is a technology that enables to
transmit energy from the energy source to an electrical load
across in the air without wires. The energy transferring using
air for wireless charging, it could be used in the location that is
far from the energy source.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)

There are five techniques for wireless energy transfer,
namely, inductive coupling, capacitive coupling, magnetic
resonant coupling, and MW Radiation.
1) Inductive Coupling
Inductive coupling works by magnetic field induction that
delivers electrical energy between two coils. Inductive power
transfer happens when primary coil of an energy transmitter
generates a predominantly varying magnetic field across the
secondary coil of the energy receiver within the field generally,
less than a wavelength [12]. Under inductive coupling, power
transfer falls off steeply even over a very short distance [3]. Fig.
1 shows the reference model of inductive coupling.
(GHz), respectively [15]. MW radiation is capable of
transmitting power up to several kilometers [16].
B. Antenna
The antenna is the instrument for transmitting and receiving
the electromagnetic wave, named radio waves. Antenna
enables to resonance, so it can operate in the narrow frequency
band. Receiver and transmitter antenna must be set become
radio system that can be connecting each other. In another hand,
if it is not tuned, the transmission will be error [17].
Yagi-Uda antenna is the usually used by amateur radio. This
antenna enables as a television antenna, cellular antenna, and
collecting radio signal. Based on the shape, The Yagi-Uda
antenna was applied for communication at the short wave
frequency to MW by Very High Frequency (VHF) spectrum to
UHF spectrum [18]. Yagi-Uda antenna was shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 1. The model of inductive coupling [12]

2) Capacitive Coupling
Wireless power transfer using a near-field capacitive couple,
it was initially proposed for industrial application. The near- Fig. 3. The Yagi-Uda antenna [19]
field capacitive coupling is the capacitive counterpart near-
field resonant inductive coupling scheme. It does not need any Yagi-Uda antenna usually has three elements, there are a
material medium for the transfer of charges, to enable wireless reflector, a driven element, and one or more directors [13], [18].
energy transfer in its principal work [14]. In capacitive 1) Reflector: Element that absorbs and re-reflects the radio
coupling, the achievable amount of coupling capacitance is waves. The position is in the back of arrays after a driven
dependent on the available area of a device. element. The function of a reflector is a signal reflector and has
a low frequency resonant. The length of reflector element is
3) Magnetic Resonance Coupling 5 % longer than driven element. The length of the reflector
This technology is using a resonant coupling, by having depends on the distance and diameter its element.
magnetic resonant coils operate at the same resonance 2) Driven element: The element is the feed point, where the
frequency [15]. Magnetic resonant coupling, as shown in Fig. 2, feed line has been attached, to perform the transfer of power to
it was based on evanescent wave coupling, which generated the antenna. Driven element acts as energy transferring
and transfer electrical energy between two resonance coils performance from transmitter to the antenna.
through oscillating magnetic fields [12]. 3) Director: Director enables to give direction for the
antenna. Adding director element will add gain, but it will
press the antenna direction pattern.

Fig. 2. The model of magnetic resonance coupling [12]
4) Microwave (MW) Radiation
Radiofrequency (RF) and microwave (MW) radiation are
electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range 3 kilohertz
(kHz) - 300 Megahertz (MHz), and 300 MHz - 300 gigahertz
III. METHODOLOGY
This paper presents the experimental method using
electromagnetic waves as a media transferring energy. The
transmitter will transfer the energy through to the receiver.
Transmitter's antenna changes electron waves to
electromagnetic waves consisting of a photon to the receiver's
antenna. Transferred energy in the form of the photon is
modified to DC current about 5 volts.
The wet system is designed by using radio wave at UHF
band as the energy carrier. Measuring the measured energy by
using Firstcom FR-488 instrument and Yagi-Uda 5 antenna.
For the load, we use four LEDs that are set parallel. The totals
resistances of load are 150 ohms in the 12-volt transmitter unit.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)
The power of the transmitter is set at the high position, 39.00
watts. The range of various frequencies in this paper is 400
MHz to 489 MHz and the SWR is 1.2.
The basic principle of WET using UHF was shown in Fig. 4
and the electronic scheme on receiver unit is shown in Fig. 5.
Whereas Fig. 6 is the block diagram of the WET system in this
research.
Fig. 4. Diagram block of wireless energy transfer system [1]
Fig. 5. The scheme of the receiver unit electronic circuit system [1]
Fig. 6. Block diagram radio frequency based on WET
The position of the transmitter unit is rotated every 30°.
Every change of angle is noted as a current measurement. The
current is converted to the energy value from the receiver unit.
Several of distance is also experimented in this researched, so
we will know when the distance still allows energy transfers
occur in the transmitter and receiver. The efficiency would be
calculated by comparing the current in the each position. The
other efficiency was calculated by comparing transferring
current with the distance between transmitter and receiver unit.
Fig. 7. The experiment devices for research
Fig. 7 shown the devices of the WET system that is used in
this research. Before doing research, we have to measure the
power RF and set the multi meter instrument in the receiver
unit. These aim to measure current and voltage of the energy
transfer.
In the transmitter unit, we used Yagi-Uda style antenna.
The antenna converted the electron current to be an
electromagnetic wave. The energy was sent from the
transmitter in the electromagnetic wave state and was beamed
by the Yagi-Uda antenna to the receiver device. Of course, the
electromagnetic wave does not need any cable or conductor
wires to carry the energy and will put the receiver unit as
electronic in a current state. This current did fill the battery
along the transmitter or energy source unit is on. The Yagi-
Uda model antenna was satisfied the energy transfer process,
however, it was found that the energy transfer efficiency was
lower than by using a parabolic antenna. Even though, the
using of Yagi-Uda model antenna is reasonable, since this
model is very easy to set-up and able to be set up in multi array
mode in order the increased the efficiency as well. The
advantage of the Yagi-Uda antenna is the beaming pattern.
The beam pattern is very focused in the very narrow spot area.
Moreover, the distance between transmitter units to the
receiver unit is up to 10 meters with the reasonable in energy
transfer efficiency. In the near future using this multi-array
Yagi-Uda model antenna with the very high power source
should be investigated, in order to minimize the receiver size.
The minimizing the dimension of the receiver is very important
since the human organ electronic implant should as small as
possible.
The schematic diagram of the Yagi-Uda model antenna,
which was used in this experiment, can be seen in Fig. 8, and
the prediction beam pattern can be seen in Fig. 9, Fig. 10 and
Fig. 11 the transmitter antenna had been set in the frequency
UHF, with the SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) was less than 1.5.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)

Fig. 12. SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) Yagi-Uda 5 Element

IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

In this paper, we have provided the influence of the antenna
position and distance to the power including the current and
Fig. 8. The Yagi-Uda 5 elements antenna
voltage. The longest distance where energy transfer was still
received by the receiver is 1.25 meters. The closer the distance
between the transmitter and receiver antenna, then the greater
the current producing. In another hand, the farther the distance
between the transmitter and receiver antenna, then the smaller
the current producing, even to disappear. This case because
much of the nuisance parameters disturb wave radio, which is
through in the air between antennas.

TABLE I. DATA WIRELESS ENERGY TRANSFER

Fig. 9. The beam pattern of the Yagi-Uda Antenna
No F Distance PTx R Voltage Current PRx Eff.
(MHz) (cm) (W) (Ohm) Rx (V) Rx (A) (W) (%)
In this experiment, the same receiver unit was used (Yagi- 1 400 10 39 10 0.40 0.04 0.02 0.04
Uda to Parabolic), in order to compare the energy transfer 2 405 10 39 10 0.50 0.05 0.03 0.07
efficiency. In the previous experiment which was held by 3 410 10 39 10 0.25 0.02 0.01 0.01
4 415 10 39 10 0.49 0.04 0.02 0.05
Sunarno et. al. Parabolic to parabolic mode was used [1]. 5 420 10 39 10 0.65 0.06 0.04 0.10
6 425 10 39 10 0.75 0.08 0.06 0.15
7 430 10 39 10 0.70 0.07 0.05 0.12
8 435 10 39 10 0.69 0.07 0.05 0.12
9 440 10 39 10 0.90 0.09 0.08 0.21
10 445 10 39 10 1.10 0.11 0.12 0.30
11 450 10 39 10 1.20 0.12 0.14 0.36
12 455 10 39 10 1.20 0.12 0.14 0.36
13 460 10 39 10 1.10 0.12 0.13 0.32
14 465 10 39 10 0.25 0.02 0.01 0.01
15 470 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
16 475 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
17 480 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
18 485 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
19 489 10 39 10 0 0 0 0

Fig. 10. 2D the prediction beam pattern could be seen

In this research, the UHF transmitter generated radio
frequency with output energy of 39.00-watt energy source. The
range of various frequencies in this paper is 400 MHz to 489
MHz and the SWR is 1.2. The transmitter unit and the antenna
were connected with the 50 ohm-coaxial cable. In order to
transfer the energy, the transmitter system consisting Yagi-Uda
model antenna was applied. The results show that the
efficiency maximum of the measured energy transfer is 0.36%.

Fig. 11. 3D the prediction beam pattern could be seen

 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)
body for utilizing human implant device battery charging
without doing surgery for battery replacing.
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics,
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada for
supported the implementation and research.
Fig. 13. Capture DC current versus distance with 39 W energy source
Fig. 14. Capture DC current versus slope with 39 W energy source
For analyzing the antenna pattern, transmitter antenna has to
vary the polarizing. The result was shown in Fig. 14. The
highest current is in the 60 degrees of angle. However, 150
degrees is the angle which produces the lowest current.
V. CONCLUSIONS
In this research, the wireless energy transferred by using
Ultra High Frequency with the Yagi-Uda mode antenna had
been conducted. The UHF transmitter generated radio
frequency with output energy of 39.00-watt energy source. The
range of various frequencies in this paper is 400 MHz to 489
MHz and the SWR is 1.2. The transmitter unit and the antenna
were connected with the 50 ohm-coaxial cable. In order to
transfer the energy, the transmitter system consisting Yagi-Uda
model antenna was applied. The results show that the
efficiency maximum of the measured energy transfer is 0.36%.
The polarity and distance between antennas were influenced by
the efficiency of energy transferred.
The maximum energy transfer happens when the angle of
the transmitter antenna is 60 degrees, then the minimum is in
150 degrees of angle. The distance that enables to transfer
energy is 0 meter to 1.25 meters.
For the future work, the implemented of the WET system is
specifically for a human body implant. Shape and size of
receiver unit were designed for able to receive the maximum
energy. This research was specifically aimed to reach the ideal
condition, that is maximum efficiency but minimize in the
receiver unit size. Ideally, the size of the receiver is no more
than 1 cm3. This size is possible to be placed in the human
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank Sensor and Telecontrol System
REFERENCES
[1] Sunarno (2014). The Wireless Energy Transfer Experiment using
Electromagnetic Wave based on Ultra High-Frequency Band.
Proceedings of the 3rd Applied Science for Technology Innovation,
ASTECHNOVA 2014 Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 13-24 August 2014.
[2] Wenzheng Xu, Weifa Liang, Jian Peng, Yiguang Liu, and Yan Wang.
Maximizing Charging Satisfaction of Smartphone Users via Wireless
Energy Transfer. IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, Vol. 16, No.
4, April 2017.
[3] M. R. Basar, M. Y. Ahmad, J. Cho and F. Ibrahim, "Stable and High-
Efficiency Wireless Power Transfer System for Robotic Capsule Using a
Modified Helmholtz Coil," in IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Electronics, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 1113-1122, Feb. 2017.
[4] R. Jegadeesan, K. Agarwal, Y. X. Guo, S. C. Yen and N. V. Thakor,
"Wireless Power Delivery to Flexible Subcutaneous Implants Using
Capacitive Coupling," in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and
Techniques, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 280-292, Jan. 2017.
[5] S. C. Tang, T. L. T. Lun, Z. Guo, K. W. Kwok and N. J. McDannold,
"Intermediate Range Wireless Power Transfer With Segmented Coil
Transmitters for Implantable Heart Pumps," in IEEE Transactions on
Power Electronics, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 3844-3857, May 2017.
[6] S. Stoecklin, A. Yousaf, T. Volk and L. Reindl, "Efficient Wireless
Powering of Biomedical Sensor Systems for Multichannel Brain
Implants," in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement,
vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 754-764, April 2016.
[7] H. Vihvelin, J. R. Leadbetter, M. Bance, J. A. Brown and R. B. A.
Adamson, "Compensating for Tissue Changes in an Ultrasonic Power
Link for Implanted Medical Devices," in IEEE Transactions on
Biomedical Circuits and Systems, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 404-411, April 2016.
[8] P. Hu, Y. W. You, F. Y. B. Chen, D. McCormick and D. M. Budgett,
"Wireless Power Supply for ICP Devices With Hybrid Supercapacitor
and Battery Storage," in IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics
in Power Electronics, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 273-279, March 2016.
[9] H. Zhang, F. Lu, H. Hofmann, W. Liu and C. C. Mi, "A Four-Plate
Compact Capacitive Coupler Design and LCL-Compensated Topology
for Capacitive Power Transfer in Electric Vehicle Charging
Application," in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 31, no.
12, pp. 8541-8551, Dec. 2016.
[10] Smida; S. Khaledian, "ReflectFX: In-band Full-duplex wireless
communication by means of reflected power," in IEEE Transactions on
Communications, vol.PP, no.99, pp.1-1, 2017.
[11] Weite Zhang; Shilie Zheng; Xiaonan Hui; Ruofan Dong; Xiaofeng Jin;
Hao Chi; Xianmin Zhang, "Mode Division Multiplexing
Communication Using Microwave Orbital Angular Momentum: An
Experimental Study," in IEEE Transactions on Wireless
Communications, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 1308-1318, Feb. 2017
[12] X. Lu, P. Wang, D. Niyato, D. I. Kim and Z. Han, "Wireless Charging
Technologies: Fundamentals, Standards, and Network Applications," in
IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 1413-
1452, Secondquarter 2016.
[13] H. Zhang, P. Sun, C. Li, Y. Huang, and L. Yang, “Cooperative
Precoding for Wireless Energy Transfer and Secure Cognitive Radio
Coexistence Systems,” IEEE Signal Process. Lett., vol. 9908, no. c, pp.
1–1, 2017.
[14] R. Jegadeesan, K. Agarwal, Y. X. Guo, S. C. Yen and N. V. Thakor,
"Wireless Power Delivery to Flexible Subcutaneous Implants Using
Capacitive Coupling," in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and
Techniques, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 280-292, Jan. 2017.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)

[15] Xie, Y. Shi, Y. T. Hou and A. Lou, "Wireless power transfer and
applications to sensor networks," in IEEE Wireless Communications, vol.
20, no. 4, pp. 140-145, August 2013.
[16] Qingwen Liu; Jun Wu; Pengfei Xia; Shengjie Zhao; Wei Chen; Yanping
Yang; Lajos Hanzo, "Charging Unplugged: Will Distributed Laser
Charging for Mobile Wireless Power Transfer Work?," in IEEE
Vehicular Technology Magazine, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 36-45, Dec. 2016.
[17] Antenna Basic Concept. Pulse Electronic Larsen Antennas, 1-800-
ANTENNA (268-3662).
[18] (2017) http://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-a-yagi-antenna.htm. Access on
March 14, 2017.
[19] Simon R. Saunders, Alejandro Aragon-Zavala (2007). Antennas and
Propagation for Wireless Communication Systems. John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd. The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ,
England.
[20] (2017) http://hamuniverse.com/yagibasics.html Access on March 29,
2017.
[21] (2017) http://www.hamuniverse.com/yagibasics.html. Access on March
14, 2017.