Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become pivotal in precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and smart healthcare applications. However, the challenges of energy consumption and security, particularly concerning the reliance on large battery-operated nodes, pose significant hurdles for these networks. Energy-harvesting wireless sensor networks (EH-WSNs) emerged as a solution, enabling nodes to replenish energy from the environment remotely. Yet, the transition to EH-WSNs brought forth new obstacles in ensuring reliable and secure data transmission. In our initial study, we tackled the intermittent connectivity issue prevalent in EH-WSNs due to the dynamic behavior of energy harvesting nodes. Rapid shifts between ON and OFF states led to frequent changes in network topology, causing reduced link stability. To counter this, we introduced the hybrid routing method (HRM), amalgamating grid-based and opportunistic-based routing. HRM incorporated a packet fragmentation mechanism and cooperative localization for both static and mobile networks. Simulation results demonstrated HRM's superior performance, enhancing key metrics such as throughput, packet delivery ratio, and energy consumption in comparison to existing energy-aware adaptive opportunistic routing approaches. Our second research focused on countering emerging threats, particularly the malicious energy attack (MEA), which remotely powers specific nodes to manipulate routing paths. We developed intelligent energy attack methods utilizing Q-learning and Policy Gradient techniques. These methods enhanced attacking capabilities across diverse network settings without requiring internal network information. Simulation results showcased the efficacy of our intelligent methods in diverting traffic loads through compromised nodes, highlighting their superiority over traditional approaches. In our third study, we developed a deep learning-based two-stage framework to detect MEAs. Utilizing a stacked residual network (SR-Net) for global classification and a stacked LSTM network (SL-Net) to pinpoint specific compromised nodes, our approach demonstrated high detection accuracy. By deploying trained models as defenses, our method outperformed traditional threshold filtering techniques, emphasizing its accuracy in detecting MEAs and securing EH-WSNs. In summary, our research significantly advances the reliability and security of EH-WSN, particularly focusing on enhancing the network layer. These findings offer promising avenues for securing the future of wireless sensor technologies.

This thesis project investigates, analyzes, designs, simulates, constructs and tests a dual-axis solar tracker system to track the sun and concentrates the heat of the sunlight, using a Fresnel lens, into a small area, which is above of an evaporator, to increase the temperature of the seawater to convert it into freshwater. The dual-axis solar tracker was designed with the main objectives that the structure was portable, dismountable, lightweight, low cost, corrosion resistant, wires inside pipes, accurate, small size, follow the sun automatically, off-grid (electrical), use green energy (solar powered), and has an empty area right below of the lens. First, a 500 mm diameter flat Fresnel lens was selected and simulated based on an algorithmic method achieved by a previous PhD student at UNT using MATLAB®, to give the optimization lens dimensions. The lens profile was drawn with AutoCAD®, then output profile lens was simulated in COMSOL Multiphysics®. The objective was to provide the high efficiency, optimum and high precision of the focal rays and heat to the receiver of the evaporator. A novel dual-axis solar tracker system was then designed that is portable, dismountable, lightweight and corrosion resistant. The solar tracker tracks the sun in two axis of rotation automatically during the day time, maximizing the angles of inclination on each axis. After testing computer simulations, the dual-axis solar tracker system was constructed and tested. Last, a detailed cost analysis was performed of the entire project. The outcome of this work can be applied for desalination seawater purposes or other any Fresnel lens application that require a focal high temperature directed by dual-axis solar tracker system.

Outlined herein is the Modular Vehicle [MODV] concept as a cost effective, utilitarian, and highly functional vehicle concept for the changing demands placed on a MAGTF [Marine Air-Ground Task Force] or SP-MAGTF [Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force] in the 21st century. A large focus is put on the importance of modularity and cost effectiveness of having a 24 hour configurable vehicle to a specific mission and area of operation. Off-road vehicle progression through history is presented and successful design features are noted in order to develop underlying goals for the modular vehicle. The thesis emphasizes recent technology advancements that can shift the foundations of vehicle design including wheel hub motors, high capacity batteries, solid oxide fuel cells, autonomy, structural health monitoring, energy harvesting shock absorbers, non-pneumatic tires, and drive-by-wire options. Predictions on the outlook for the technology progressions is discussed to give insight into the viability of basing a vehicle concept on these technologies. Finally, physical design bounds are presented to provide a foundation for the future design of such a vehicle. / Master of Science

This thesis primarily deals with the concept of designing an antenna based device to harvest energy from Radio Frequency (RF) and using the harvested energy to sense the available Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in order for the Internet of Things (IoT) devices to connect to the network for the purpose of transmitting and receiving data. Secondarily the importance of this project is targeting how to conserve battery power in an IoT device and extend it’s lifetime. Research in the field of energy harvesting has been going on for a long time. Most of the researches concentrate on harvesting significant amount of energy to power up an entire device and so no one has ever thought of using the harvested RF energy to sense the availability of LTE network. This method of using antenna to sense network requires only a small amount of harvested energy. Due to this reason the proposed design works for a very low input received signal strength indicator (RSSI) as well, unlike higer RSSI required for other applications. The proposed design has three major sub-parts such as the (i) Antenna for the purpose of receiving the available ambient radio frequency. (ii) Matching circuit for the purpose of maximum power transfer between the antenna and the rectifier circuit. Finally (iii) rectifier which is used to convert the AC voltage into DC voltage. The device then measures the obtained voltage through the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) pin in the Micro-Controlling Unit (MCU) available with the attached IoT device. The MCU then maps the harvested voltage into the corresponding analog voltage.Depending on the set threshold voltage the MCU can then advice whether or not to connect to the LTE network. The design implements matching circuit for the two LTE bands that are primarily in use in the European region i.e., band 3, 8 that work in 915, 1800 MHz frequency region respectively. In this way we can identify in which band the device is harvesting energy. The matching circuit also acts as a bandpass filter. For the design and production of the entire harvester device one needs adequate knowledge in the field of RF and Antennas and a high level knowledge in the field of electronics in order to run Simulations and to design Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). Advanced Design Software (ADS) has been used to run all the simulations and Altium software for the design of PCBs. The final prototype is presented along with the casing and tested on the field in practical scenario. Antenna test chambers were used to test the performance of the antennas being used for the design. The prototype harvests RF energy and indicates whether or not to connect to the LTE network with the help of light emitting diode (LED). The uniqueness of the device is that it can detect signals as low as -110 dBm, this has been set as the threshold for the purpose of sensing LTE networks. / Denna avhandling behandlar primärt konceptet att använda antenner för att hämta energi från RF och att använda den insamlade energin för att känna av det tillgängliga LTE-nätverket för att IoT-enheterna ska kunna ansluta till nätverket för syftet med att överföra och ta emot data. Sekundärt Målet med av detta projekt är att spara batteri i en IoT-enhet och förlänga dess livslängd. Forskning inom området energiskörd har pågått under lång tid nu. De flesta av undersökningarna koncentrerar sig på att skörda betydande mängder energi för att driva en hel enhet och så ingen har någonsin tänkt på att använda den avkända RF-energin för att känna av tillgängligheten för LTE-nätverket. Denna metod för att använda antenn för att känna av nätverk kräver endast en liten mängd skördad energi. På grund av denna anledning fungerar den föreslagna designen även för en mycket låg ingång RSSI, till skillnad från högre RSSI som krävs för andra applikationer. Den föreslagna designen har tre huvuddelar, såsom (i) antennen för att ta emot den tillgängliga omgivande radiofrekvensen. (ii) Matchningskrets för maximal effektöverföring mellan antennen och likriktarkretsen. Slutligen (iii) likriktaren som används för att omvandla AC-spänningen till DC-spänning. Enheten mäter sedan den erhållna spänningen genom ADC-stiftet i MCU som finns tillgänglig med den anslutna IoT-enheten. MCU mappar sedan den genererade spänningen till motsvarande analoga spänning. Beroende på den inställda tröskelspänningen kan MCU sedan ge råd om att ansluta till LTE-nätverket eller inte. Konstruktionen implementerar matchningskrets för de två LTE-banden som primärt används i den europeiska regionen vilka är band 3, 7 som arbetar i 915 respektive 1800 MHz frekvensområdet. På så sätt kan vi identifiera i vilket band enheten hämtar energi i. Matchningskretsen fungerar också som ett bandpassfilter. För design och produktion av hela insamlingsenheten behöver man adekvat kunskap inom området RF och antenner och en hög nivå kunskap inom elektronikområdet för att kunna köra simuleringar och designa PCBs.ADS har använts för att köra alla simuleringar och Altium-mjukvara för design av PCBs. Den slutliga prototypen presenteras tillsammans med höljet och testas på fältet i praktiskt scenario. Antenntestkammare användes för att testa prestandan hos antennerna som användes för konstruktionen. Prototypen skördar RF-energi och indikerar om man ska ansluta till LTE-nätverket eller inte med hjälp av blinkande LED.Det unika med enheten är att den kan upptäcka signaler så låga som - 110 dBm, detta har satts som tröskel för avkänning LTE nätverk.

Abstract The rapid evolution of wireless networks to meet the requirements of explosive data traffic demand is escalating energy consumption beyond sustainable limits. Consequently, energy efficiency (EE) has emerged as a key performance indicator for future wireless networks to address the increasing concern over greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable economic growth. This thesis studies energy-efficient transmission strategies for multiantenna wireless systems. The aim is to develop linear beamforming techniques maximizing the bit-per-Joule EE metric, focusing on three appealing scenarios: a coordinated multicell system; a fronthaul-constrained cloud radio access network (C-RAN); and a multi-pair wireless-powered relaying system. The primary emphasis is on suboptimal but efficient optimization approaches which are attractive for practical implementation. The problem of achieving EE fairness in a multicell multiple-input single-output downlink system is studied first. Specifically, coordinated beamforming is designed to maximize the minimum EE among all base stations. Novel efficient iterative optimization methods solving the design problem in both centralized and decentralized fashions are proposed. In a downlink C-RAN with finite-capacity fronthaul links, the network-wide EE performance is explored via a joint design of beamforming and remote radio head-user association. A relatively realistic power consumption model including rate-dependent circuit power and nonlinear power amplifiers' (PA) efficiency is also considered. To gain an insight into the optimal performance of the design problem, an algorithm achieving globally optimal solutions is devised. Towards practical implementation, two efficient iterative suboptimal methods are proposed aiming at yielding near-optimal performance. Finally, a multi-pair amplify-forward relaying network is considered, in which energy-constrained relays adopting time-switching protocol harvest energy from the radio frequency signals transmitted by users. To maintain EE fairness among all user pairs, joint optimization of system parameters, such as users' transmit power, relay beamforming, and energy harvesting (EH) time, is studied. Impacts of rate-dependent circuit power, nonlinear PAs' efficiency and nonlinear EH circuits on the achievable performance are also addressed. / Tiivistelmä Langattomat verkot ovat kehittyneet nopeasti räjähdysmäisesti kasvavan dataliikenteen mahdollistamiseksi, minkä seurauksena energiankulutus on kasvanut kestävän kehityksen rajat ylittävällä tavalla. Siksi energiatehokkuudesta (EE, energy efficiency) on tullut uusien langattomien verkkojen keskeinen suunnittelukriteeri vastauksena kasvavaan huoleen kasvihuonepäästöistä ja kestävästä talouskasvusta. Väitöskirjassa tutkitaan moniantennisten langattomien järjestelmien energiatehokkaita tiedonsiirtostrategioita. Tavoitteena on kehittää lineaarisia keilanmuodostustekniikoita, jotka maksimoivat energiatehokkuuden mitattuna bitteinä joulea kohden, keskittymällä kolmeen kiinnostavaan vaihtoehtoon, joita ovat koordinoitu monisolujärjestelmän lähetys laskevalla siirtotiellä, pilvipohjainen radioliityntäverkko (C-RAN, cloud radio access network), jossa laskentayksikön ja varsinaisen radiolähettimen välinen yhteys (fronthaul) on rahoitettu, ja usean parin relejärjestelmiin, joissa releet toimivat paristoilla. Työn pääpaino on alioptimaalisissa, mutta käytännöllisesti tehokkaissa optimointimenetelmissä. Pääpaino on alioptimaalisissa mutta tehokkaissa optimointitavoissa, jotka ovat kiinnostavia käytännön toteutuksen näkökulmasta. Ensiksi tarkastellaan tasapuolisen energiatehokkuuden saavuttamista monisoluisessa laskevan siirtotien moni-tulo yksi-lähtö (MISO, multiple-input single-output) -järjestelmässä. Koordinoitu keilanmuodostus on suunniteltu erityisesti maksimoimaan energiatehokkuuden minimitaso kaikilla tukiasemilla. Tarkemmin sanottuna pyritään maksimoimaan huonoin energiatehokkuus solmujen välillä, kun käytetään yhteistoiminnallista keilanmuodostusta. Muodostetun ongelman ratkaisemiseksi ehdotetaan edistyksellisiä iteratiivisia menetelmiä käyttämällä sekä keskitettyjä että hajautettuja ratkaisuja. Laskevan siirtosuunnan fronthaul-rajoitetussa C-RAN-järjestelmässä selvitetään verkonlaajuista energiatehokkuutta keilanmuodostuksen ja palvelevan tukiaseman yhteisoptimoinnilla. Tässä käytetään verrattain realistista tehonkulutusmallia, joka sisältää datanopeudesta riippuvan prosessointitehon ja epälineaarisen tehovahvistimen (PA, power amplifier) hyötysuhteen. Jotta saadaan käsitys ongelman optimaalisesta suorituskyvystä, siihen kehitetään globaalisti optimaalinen menetelmä. Lisäksi ehdotetaan kaksi käytännöllisempää iteratiivista menetelmää, jotka saavuttavat lähes optimaalisen suorituskyvyn. Lopuksi keskitytään monen parin vahvista-ja-välitä eteenpäin (AF. amplify and forward) verkkoon, jossa aikajakokytkentää käyttävät energiarajoitetut toistimet keräävät energiaa käyttäjien lähettämistä radiosignaaleista. Jotta saavutetaan EE:n oikeudenmukaisuus kaikkien parien välillä, parametrit, kuten käyttäjien lähetysteho, toistimen keilanmuodostus, ja energiankeräysaika suunnitellaan yhdessä. Tässä tutkitaan nopeusriippuvaisen piirin tehon, epälineaarisen tehovahvistimen hyötysuhteen ja epälineaaristen energiankeräyspiirien tehon vaikutusta suorituskykyyn.

Ce travail consiste à développer un système convertissant une partie de l’énergie mécanique du cœur en électricité pour alimenter les stimulateurs cardiaques de nouvelle génération, implants sans sonde ni batteries implantés directement dans la cavité cardiaque. Après études de différentes sources d’énergies et concept associés, l’option liée à la pression sanguine, appliquant sur une partie souple du boîtier de l’implant des efforts transmis à un transducteur interne les convertissant en électricité, s’est révélée la plus prometteuse. Cette solution présente les avantages principaux suivants par rapport aux systèmes inertiels usuels : grande densité de puissance, adaptabilité au rythme cardiaque et potentiel de miniaturisation. Un boîtier ultra-souple électro-déposé de 10 µm d’épaisseur en forme de soufflet a été modélisé, fabriqué et caractérisé, validant ainsi le concept de récupérateur proposé. Un transducteur électrostatique novateur (3D multicouche à peignes interdigités et à chevauchement hors-plan), étudié par des modélisations analytiques et numériques, est en cours de fabrication. Selon l’électronique associée, ce transducteur promet une grande densité d’énergie extraite. Un transducteur piézoélectrique micro-usiné en forme de spirale et à électrodes micro-structurées, est également présenté. Les défis spécifiques des spirales dontla flexibilité permet d’augmenter l’énergie mécanique d’entrée sont étudiés notamment par simulation numériques, et des prototypes ont été micro-fabriqués et caractérisés. Au final, une énergie de 3 µJ/cm3/cycle est obtenue et de nombreuses perspectives d’amélioration permettent d’envisager une puissance au moins 10 fois supérieure. / This work consists in the development and design of an energy harvesting device to supply power to the new generation pacemakers, miniaturized leadless implants without battery placed directly in heart chambers. After analyzing different mechanical energy sources in the cardiac environment and associated energy harvesting mechanisms, a concept based on regular blood pressure variation stood out: an implant with a flexible packaging that transmits blood forces to an internal transducer. Advantages compared to traditional inertial scavengers are mainly: greater power density, adaptability to heartbeat frequency changes and miniaturization potential. Ultra-flexible 10-µm thin metal bellows have been designed, fabricated and tested. These prototypes acting as implant packaging that deforms under blood pressure actuation have validated the proposed harvesting concept. A new type of electrostatic transducer (3D multi-layer out-of-plane overlap structure with interdigitated combs) has been introduced and fully analyzed. Promising numerical results and associated fabrication processes are presented. Also, large stroke optimized piezoelectric spiral transducers including their complex electrodes patterns have been studied through a design analysis, numerical simulations, prototype fabrication and experimental testing. Apower density of 3 µJ/cm3/cycle has been experimentally achieved. With further addressed developments, the proposed device should provide enough energy to power autonomously and virtually perpetually the next generation of pacemakers.

Cette thèse concerne la récupération d'énergie vibratoire dans le but de proposer une alternative aux batteries conventionnelles pour l’alimentation de systèmes autonomes sans fil. Ceci permettrait d’améliorer leur compacité (moins d’énergie stockée), leur tenue dans des environnements sévères (forte température) et de réduire leur besoin d'entretien. Cette étude se concentre plus particulièrement sur les générateurs oscillants bistables, intéressants pour leur grande plage de fréquences utile comparée à celle offerte par les générateurs linéaires (limitée à la zone de résonance). Cette thèse se divise en quatre grandes parties. La première présente la construction du modèle mathématique permettant de prédire les différents comportements du générateur bistable (ces derniers pouvant coexister sur certaines plages de fréquences) incluant l'étude de la stabilité aux petites perturbations. Ce modèle met en évidence des comportements du générateur encore peu exploités pour la récupération d'énergie : les comportements sous-harmoniques dont la plage de fréquences permet d'agrandir la bande passante globale du générateur. Afin d’améliorer la précision du modèle, celui-ci est ensuite complété dans la deuxième partie par un critère semi-analytique : le critère de robustesse de stabilité qui caractérise la sensibilité du générateur aux perturbations extérieures (plus un comportement est robuste plus il sera facile à maintenir dans le temps). Le modèle ainsi obtenu ainsi que le système expérimentale montrent une grande plage de fréquences sur laquelle coexistent des comportements intéressants pour la récupération d’énergie (les orbites hautes) et des comportements non désirables (les orbites basses). La troisième partie de cette thèse présente donc différentes stratégies permettant de sauter des orbites basses vers les orbites hautes en jouant directement sur les paramètres du générateur. Enfin, la quatrième et dernière partie s’attarde sur l’influence du circuit d'interface AC-DC entre le générateur bistable et la charge en vue de son intégration future. / This thesis concerns vibratory energy harvesting in order to propose an alternative to conventional batteries for the power supply of autonomous wireless systems. This would improve their compactness (less stored energy), their resistance to harsh environments (high temperature) and reduce their need for maintenance. This study focuses in particular on bistable oscillating generators, which are interesting for their large useful frequency range compared to that offered by linear generators (limited to the resonance zone). This thesis is divided into four main parts. The first presents the construction of the mathematical model to predict the different behaviors of the bistable generator (these behaviors can coexist over certain frequency ranges) including the study of stability to small disturbances. This model highlights original behaviors for energy recovery: subharmonic behaviors whose frequency range allows increasing the overall generator bandwidth. In order to improve the accuracy of the model, a semi-analytical criterion is then added: the stability robustness criterion which characterizes the sensitivity of the different behaviors to external disturbances (the more robust a behavior, the easier to maintain over time). The model obtained and the experimental prototype show a wide frequency range on which the interesting behaviors (high orbits) and the undesirable behaviors (low orbits) coexist. The third part of this thesis therefore presents different strategies for jumping from low to high orbits by playing directly on the generator parameters. Finally, the fourth and last part focuses on the influence of the AC-DC interface circuit between the bistable generator and the load for future integration.

Small wind turbines, and especially urban-mounted turbines which require no dedicated pole, have garnered great public enthusiasm in recent years. This enthusiasm has fueled widespread growth among energy conservationists, and estimates predict that the power produced nationally by small wind will increase thirty-fold by 2013. Unfortunately, most of the wind resources currently available have been designed for larger, rural-mounted turbines; thus, they are not well suited for this nascent market. A consequence of this is that many potential urban small wind turbine owners over-predict their local wind resource, which is both costly and inefficient. According to a recent study published by Encraft Ltd., small wind turbines mounted to buildings far underperformed their rural pole mounted counterparts. As a proposed solution to this problem, this project introduces the concept of a Web-based Wind Assessment System (WWAS). This system combines all the necessary resources for potential urban small wind turbine customers into a single web-based tool. The system also presents the concept of a modular wind measurement system, which couples with the WWAS to provide real-time wind data measurements. The benefits of the system include its ease of use, flexibility of installation, data accessibility from any web browser, and expert advice. The WWAS prevents potential clients from investing in a system that may not be viable for their location. In addition, a small wind turbine is designed in this project, which has a unique modular mounting system, allowing the same baseline wind turbine to attach to various structures using interchangeable mounting hardware. This includes such accessible urban structures as street lights, building corners, flag poles, and building walls, among others. This design also utilizes concepts that address some of the challenges associated with mounting small wind turbines to existing urban structures. These concepts include: swept tip blades and lower RPM to reduce noise; vibration suppression using rubber shims; a netted duct to protect wildlife; and a direct-drive permanent magnet generator to ensure low starting torque. Finally, the cost of this system is calculated using off-the-shelf components, which minimize testing and certification expense. This small wind turbine system is designed to be grid-connected, has a 6 foot diameter rotor, and is rated at 1 kW. This design features a unique modular interchangeable mounting system. The cost for this complete system is estimated to be $2,050. If a users' site has an average wind speed of 14 mph (6.5 m/s), this system will generate a return on investment in 8.5 years, leaving over 10 years of profit. The profit for this system, at this sample average wind speed, yields over $4,000 during its 20-year design life, which is a two-fold return on investment. This project has implications for various stakeholders in the small wind turbine market, including designers, engineers, manufacturers, and potential customers. Equally important is its potential role in guiding our future national--even global--energy agenda.

Avec l'explosion de l'Internet des Objets (IoT), de nouveaux dispositifs permettant de tagguer les objets sont nécessaires afin de permettre non seulement leur identification mais aussi d'assurer des communications fiables et de nouvelles fonctionnalités comme la détection, la localisation ou la capture d'informations. Cette tendance s'appuie sur la technologie bien établie qu'est la radiofréquence par identification (RFID) et donc l'utilisation d'étiquettes (ou tags) faibles coûts et télé-alimentés. Dans ce contexte, de nombreux travaux au niveau de la couche d'application se tournent vers la mise au point de traitements logiciels complémentaires visant à produire de nouveaux types d'information. D'autres travaux visent à améliorer la couche physique avec l'objectif de miniaturiser encore le tag mais aussi de le doter de nouvelles capacités. Jusqu'à présent, il n'existe quasiment pas de travaux concernant la transmission du signal et aucun sur l'exploitation du comportement non-linéaire des puces RFID. Cette thèse vise à étudier les phénomènes non-linéaires produits lors d'une communication RFID.Dans la première partie, deux plateformes de mesure et de caractérisation spécifiques ont été développées : la première vise à observer les signaux au cours d'une communication RFID, et alors caractériser et analyser les effets liés aux phénomènes non linéaires ; la seconde permet d'effectuer différentes mesures directement sur les puces et les caractériser en termes d'impédance, production d'harmoniques et sensibilité. Ces plateformes ont permis : 1) de mettre en évidence que les fréquences harmoniques sont porteuses d'informations qui peuvent être exploitées et même offrir de nouvelles fonctionnalités ; 2) d'obtenir de nombreuses informations sur les propriétés des puces et d'en établir un modèle électrique précis ; 3) de déterminer des critères permettant d'évaluer la performance des tags dans le contexte étudié.Dans la deuxième partie, plusieurs nouveaux tags RFID ont été conçus, fabriqués, mesurés et évalués. Ces nouveaux tags fonctionnent non seulement dans la bande UHF mais aussi sont adaptés à la troisième harmonique dans la bande des microondes. Une méthodologie et des lignes directives d'aide à la conception de ce type de tags ont été établies et s'appuient sur les deux plateformes développées afin de caractériser les différents éléments. Dans un même temps, les effets liés à la fabrication ont aussi été étudiés et des études paramétriques ont permis de mettre en évidence l'effet sur les performances de la géométrie de l'antenne et du type de puce utilisée.Dans une troisième partie, les études se sont focalisées à exploiter les effets non-linéaires des dispositifs de redressement. L'idée générale est de coupler la RFID passive avec les dispositifs de transferts de puissance et de récupération d'énergie avec pour objectifs 1) de maximiser l'efficacité de conversion RF – continu 2) et d'augmenter la distance de lecture des tags passifs. Plusieurs prototypes ont été réalisés et leurs performances ont été démontrées.L'ensemble de ces travaux a mis en évidence un nouveau concept de communication RFID exploitant les non-linéarités générées par les puces RFID. Ce concept ouvre la voie à de nouvelles applications. et a fait l'objet d'une demande de brevet international. / Powered by the exploding popularity of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), the demand for tagged devices with labels capable to ensure a reliable communication with added functions beyond the identification, such as sensing, location, health-care, among others, is growing rapidly. Certainly this growing is headed by the well-established Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, and the use of wireless low-cost self-powered tags, in other words passive RFID tags, is the most widespread used alternative. In the constant evolution on this field, usually new software treatments are offered at the application layer with the objective to processing data to produce some new information. Further works aimed at improving the physical layer around the tag antenna miniaturization and matching techniques. So far, little or no work had been done on the exploitation of the communication channel, and certainly none has been done on the exploitation of the non-linear behavior of RFID chips.After presenting the RFID technology and phenomena produced by Radio Frequency (RF) non-linear devices, and leaning in some nearby works on the field, the core of this thesis starts by exposing two characterization platforms for the evaluation of non-linear phenomena presented during the reader-tag communication. One is specialized in radiating measurements considering the whole tag (antenna and chip) under test. The other is specialized in conducted measurements directly over RFID chips, allowing performing different parametric studies (power dependency, impedance, harmonic production, sensitivity). The characterization results show that harmonic signals generated from the passive RFID chip carry information.By exploiting the characterization results and to verify the hypothesis of exploitation of non-linearities in RFID, i.e. the use of harmonic signals, the research is pursued by designing, fabricating, and measuring four different configurations of RFID tags. The new RFID tags operate at the fundamental frequency in the UHF band and at its $3^{rd}$ harmonic in the microwave band. Antenna design policies, fabrication details, and parametric studies on the performance of the new prototypes are presented. The parametric study takes special care in the antenna structure, kind of chip used, received power, and read range.Finally, some alternatives approaches for the exploitation of non-linear effects generated by rectifying devices are presented. Some theoretical aspects and experimental results are discussed linking the passive RFID technology to the theories of Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) and Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting (EEH). The solution takes advantage of the non-linear nature of rectifying elements in order to maximize the RF-to-DC conversion efficiency of EEH devices and increase the read range of passive RFID tags. The solution triggers on the design of a RF multi-device system. The design procedure and tests consider three non-linear phenomena: (1) the impedance power dependency, (2) the harmonic production, and (3) the rectifying dependence on the RF waveform.

Abstract The Internet of Things (IoT) is already providing solutions to various tasks related to monitoring the environment and controlling devices over wired and wireless networks. It is estimated by several well-known research facilities that the number of IoT devices will be in the order of tens of billions by 2020. This inevitably brings challenges and costs in deployment, management, and maintenance of networks. The focus of this thesis is to provide solutions that mainly help in the deployment and maintenance of various wireless IoT networks. Different applications have different requirements for a wireless link coverage. It is important to utilize suitable radio technology for a particular application in order, e.g., to maximize the lifetime of a device. A wireless body area network (WBAN) typically consists of devices that are within couple of meters from each other. The WBAN is suitable for, e.g., measuring muscle activity and transferring data to a storage for processing. The wireless link can use air as a medium, or alternatively, an induced electric field to a body can be used. In this thesis, it is shown that a location of the electrodes in the body have impact to the attenuation. Home automation IoT applications are typically implemented with mid-range wireless technologies, known as wireless personal area networks (WPAN). In order to minimize and get rid of battery change operations, a wake-up receiver could be utilized in order to improve the device’s energy efficiency. The concept is introduced and performance of the current state-of-the-art works are presented. In addition, a control loop enabling a passive device to have control over an energy source is proposed. Applications that have low bandwidth requirements can be implemented with low-power wide area networks (LPWAN). One technology – LoRaWAN – is evaluated, and it is recommended as based on the results to use it in non-critical applications. / Tiivistelmä Esineiden internet (Internet of Things, IoT) mahdollistaa jo laajan kirjon erilaisia ratkaisuja ympäristön monitorointiin ja laitteiden hallintaan hyödyntäen sekä langattomia että langallisia verkkoja. Usea hyvin tunnettu tutkimusorganisaatio on arvioinut, että vuonna 2020 IoT laitteiden määrä tulee olemaan kymmenissä miljardeissa. Se luo väistämättä haasteita laitteiden sijoittamisessa, hallinnassa ja kunnossapidossa. Tämä väitöskirja keskittyy tarjoamaan ratkaisuja, jotka voivat helpottaa langattomien IoT laitteiden sijoittamisessa ja kunnossapidossa. IoT sovellusten laaja kirjo vaatii erilaisia langattomia radioteknologioita, jotta sovellukset voitaisiin toteuttaa, muun muassa, mahdollisimman energiatehokkaasti. Langattomassa kehoverkossa (wireless body area network, WBAN) käytetään usein hyvin lyhyitä langattomia linkkejä. WBAN on soveltuva esimerkiksi lihasten aktiivisuus mittauksessa ja mittaustiedon siirtämisessä talteen varastointia ja prosessointia varten. Linkki voidaan toteuttaa käyttäen ilmaa rajapintana, tai vaihtoehtoisesti, kehoa. Tässä työssä on näytetty, että käytettäessä kehoa siirtotienä, elektrodien sijainnilla on merkitystä signaalin vaimennuksen kannalta. Kotiautomaatio IoT sovellukset ovat tyypillisesti toteutettu käyttäen langatonta likiverkkoa, jossa linkin pituus sisätiloissa on alle 30 metriä. Jotta päästäisiin eroon pariston vaihto-operaatiosta tai ainakin vähennettyä niiden määrää, herätevastaanotinta käyttämällä olisi mahdollista parantaa laitteiden energiatehokkuutta. Herätevastaanotin konsepti ja tämänhetkistä huipputasoa edustavien vastaanottimien suorituskyky ovat esitetty. Lisäksi, on ehdotettu menetelmä joka takaa energian saannin passiiviselle IoT laitteelle. IoT sovellukset jotka tyytyvät vähäiseen kaistanleveyteen voidaan toteuttaa matalatehoisella laajan alueen verkolla (low-power wide area network, LPWAN). Yhden LPWAN teknologian, nimeltään LoRaWAN, suorituskykyä on evaluoitu. Tulosten perusteella suositus on hyödyntää kyseistä teknologiaa ei-kriittisissä sovelluksissa.