Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2016 Vol I

WCECS 2016, October 19-21, 2016, San Francisco, USA

Development of a Wireless Power Transfer

System using Resonant Inductive Coupling
Aderemi A. Atayero, Member, IAENG, Oluwaseun Ajijola, Segun I. Popoola, Member, IAENG, and
Victor O. Matthews

Abstract— Access to power is a fundamental requirement However, the tuning of the coils to the same frequency in
for the effective functioning of any electrical/electronic circuit. resonant inductive coupling can improve the range at which
The conduit of transfer of power can be either physical (wires, power can be transferred efficiently with low complexity and
cables etc.) of non-physical (i.e. wireless). Wireless power no harmful effect [10]. The power capability of the system
transfer is a broad term used to describe any means used to can be further improved by the concurrent use of both
transmit power to electricity dependent systems and devices. In inductive and resonant couplings to reduce the leakage
this paper, a wireless power transfer system is developed to inductance in the power flow path. Coupled-mode theory
provide an alternative to using power cords for (CMT) [9, 11] and reflected load theory (RLT) [12-14] gives
electrical/electronic devices. With this technology, challenges the detailed analysis of the operation principles of resonant
like damaged or tangled power cords, sparking hazards and
coupled wireless power transfer.
the extensive use of plastic and copper used in cord production
are resolved and also the need for batteries in non-mobile Wireless power transmission offers a more suitable,
devices is eliminated. In this system, electromagnetic energy is greener alternative to conventional plug-in charging because
transmitted from a power source (transmitter) to an electrical it has the capability to recharge all electricity dependent
load (receiver) via resonant inductive coupling. The devices within an average–sized room using a single source
performance achieved is a good indication that power can still of power. This technology becomes relevant in electric
be transmitted over a medium range. In addition, possible vehicles and wireless sensors where it is practically
ways of improving the efficiency of the system are discussed. impossible to run cables due to critical environmental
conditions. Interestingly, this contactless means of powering
Index Terms— printed circuit board, resonant coil, resonant electric devices is not only convenient and safe, but also
inductive coupling, wireless power transfer
raises their mobility and reliability with low expense as it
minimizes the use of plastic and copper for wires [1].
I. INTRODUCTION This completely electronic-hardware work covers the
design, construction, and testing of the wireless power
D ESPITE the concerted effort to free essential
communication devices from wires, portable devices
such as mobile phones, laptops, and tablets, that are well
transfer system. The transmitter and receiver circuits are
designed and implemented on printed circuit boards. The
paper is arranged as follows: section II reviews historical
equipped with rechargeable batteries still require manual advancements in the development of wireless power transfer,
plugging with the wired charging system when the charge is evaluates previous relevant work, and states the methodology
depleted. To fully liberate the portable electronic devices adopted; section III discusses the details of the design
from wires, a cordless power system must be developed [1]. process and physical implementation; section IV presents the
results of system implementation test; and section V contains
Electric power can be transferred from one point to
a short summary of the work, achievements, and also states
another without the use of connecting cables through either
the limitations of the work as well as recommendations for
magnetic inductive coupling [2, 3], electromagnetic radiation
future work.
[4-8], or resonant inductive coupling [9]. Magnetic inductive
coupling employed in transformers limits the range of
transmission since the primary coil and the secondary coils II. LITERATURE REVIEW
are required to be within close proximity due to the axial and A. Brief Historical Background of Wireless Power Transfer
angular misalignment between coils. Although wireless
power transfer through electromagnetic radiation can The development of wireless power transfer is traceable
potentially cover longer distance, the approach is difficult to to the work done by late Nikola Tesla, who discovered and
implement and dangerous for objects that come in contact demonstrated the principles behind this phenomenon. At the
with the electromagnetic waves. Furthermore, the Omni- turn of the 20th century, he developed a system for
directional properties reduce the efficiency of the system. transferring large amounts of power across continental
distances in a bid to bypass the electrical-wire grid. To
Manuscript received July 15, 2016; revised August 8, 2016 achieve this, he planned to use the earth’s ionosphere as the
transfer medium for electricity. Unfortunately, it proved
A. A. Atayero, O. Ajijola, S. I. Popoola, and V. O. Matthews are with unfeasible as the theories behind it were based on 19th
the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Covenant century ideas [10, 15].
University, Ota, Nigeria (corresponding author’s phone contact: +234-807-
886-6304; e-mail: [email protected])

ISBN: 978-988-14047-1-8 WCECS 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2016 Vol I
WCECS 2016, October 19-21, 2016, San Francisco, USA

Regardless of this unsuccessful venture, Tesla was able to adjustable to enable the tuning of both resonant circuits to the
make some achievements in the field of wireless power same frequency due to the difference in inductance.
transfer. Some of them include: illuminating light bulbs For a wireless power transmission to multiple receivers to
from across the stage in a demonstration before the be feasible, each receiver must be made of coils smaller than
American Institute of Electrical Engineers at the 1893 the transmitter. Therefore, they were kept within the region
Columbian Exposition in Chicago and another was lighting where the magnetic field from the source coil is relatively
three incandescent lamps at a distance of about 30 metres. In uniform. Additionally, the receivers should be spaced far
1897, he patented the Tesla Coil (also called the high- enough apart to ensure that the interaction between any two
voltage, resonance transformer) which transfers electrical of them has a negligible impact on their interaction with the
energy from the primary coil to the secondary coil by source coil. Hence, the normal resonant coupling interaction
resonant induction. His discoveries on resonant inductive between source and receiver should suffer minimal impact
coupling are the foundational principles behind modern from the mutual inductance between any two receiver coils.
wireless power technologies such as cell phone charging
pads [15]. In 1963, the first microwave power transfer
(MPT) system was exhibited at Raytheon [16].
B. Review of Related Work
Kurs et al. [17] demonstrated the feasibility and the extent
to which resonant electromagnetic induction can be used for
efficient energy transfer over considerable distances. The
influence of extraneous objects located in-between the
transmitter and the receiver was also studied. For efficient
wireless power transfer, the authors coupled the transmitter
and the receiver with an evanescent, non-radiative near-field
as opposed to a radiative far-field because of the stationary
(non-lossy) characteristics of the near-field. Fast coupling, an
additional requirement for an efficient transmission over a
medium range distance (i.e. a distance greater than the
characteristic size of the transmitter and receiver by at least a
factor of 2 or 3) was achieved using identical, resonant
objects that are smaller than the wavelength of the
Figure 1: Schematic of a Multiple Receiver System showing only a
evanescent field. This is because the range of the near-field single receiver.
from the resonators (which act as antennas) depends on its
wavelength [18, 19]. The electrical energy transferred over a When strongly coupled interactions occur between any
distance of 2 meters, which was about 8 times the radius of two receivers, the single-transfer function resonant peak
splits into two distinct peaks. As a result, the resonant
the resonant coils, was used to light up a 60 watt bulb at an
circuits have to be tuned to one of these new frequencies
efficiency of 40%.
before power can be transferred to them [21]. Thus, the
Due to predominant magnetic near-field surrounding the second condition for a multiple receiver wireless power
resonators, the influence of extraneous objects on resonant transmission becomes necessary.
inductive coupling is nearly absent. Therefore, for an object
Kim et al. [22] analysed the effect of an intermediate coil
to pose any form of disturbance, it must have significant
on the power efficiency of a resonant wireless power
magnetic properties, else it will interact with the system just
transmission between a transmitter coil and a receiver coil.
as free space. Also, extraneous objects only pose a noticeable
Identical helical coils were employed as the transmitter and
disturbance when placed within a distance 10 cm and below
receiver resonant coils while a spiral coil serves as the
from any of the resonator coils. The only disturbance
intermediate coil to ensure that the volume of the
expected to affect the system is a close proximity of large
intermediate coil is lesser than that of the transmitter and
metallic objects [17] [20].
receiver coils. Adjustable, high Q-factor capacitors were
Cannon et al. [21] investigated the potential for the used for the resonant coils of the transmitter to allow for
application of magnetic resonant coupling to deliver power to adjusting of their resonant frequency and to reduce power
multiple receiving devices from one source device. The loss during transfer. In this case, the source and the load are
system consists of a transmitter made up of an identical pair both inductively coupled to the transmitter and the receiver
of a non-resonant source coil inductively coupled with a coils respectively.
resonant primary coil, and two receivers each consisting of
Findings revealed that the efficiency of the power transfer
pair of a resonant secondary coil inductively coupled to an
improved greatly with an intermediate coil than without both
identical non-resonant coil, supplying the load. Both
a perpendicular and a coaxial orientation. From the results
receivers had coils of identical diameters however, they were
obtained, maximum efficiency can be achieved when the
much smaller than the transmitters. The source and load were
intermediate coil is in the centre between the transmitter and
inductively coupled to the primary and load to ensure that
the receiver coils. Also, a coaxial orientation of the
each resonator has a high Q-factor by isolating the source
intermediate coil yield better results in terms of efficiency
and receiver impedances. Lumped capacitors were employed
than a perpendicular orientation [22].
in the resonant coils with those of the primary being

ISBN: 978-988-14047-1-8 WCECS 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2016 Vol I
WCECS 2016, October 19-21, 2016, San Francisco, USA

directly connected to both the source and the load

respectively. The transmitter and the receiver both consist of
resonant coils of one turn each without any intermediate
coil. More so, same resonant frequency is achieved by using
identical resonant coils of same diameter and the same
material.
III. SYSTEM DESIGN METHODOLOGY
The wireless power system consists of two modules: the
transmitter module and the receiver module. The transmitter
module, which consists of a direct current (d.c) power
supply connected to an oscillator circuit and a transmitting
coil, generates oscillating magnetic field for power transfer.
Figure 2: Schematic of a Resonant Wireless Power Transfer System with In operation, the oscillator circuit converts the d.c output of
intermediate coil.
the power supply into a high frequency alternating current
In this work, we developed a resonant wireless power (a.c) current while the transmitting coil produces an
transfer system with the transmitter and receiver coils oscillating magnetic field from the a.c current.

Figure 3: Complete Transmitter Circuit

Figure 4: Complete Receiver Circuit

ISBN: 978-988-14047-1-8 WCECS 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2016 Vol I
WCECS 2016, October 19-21, 2016, San Francisco, USA

Table 1: Transmitter Module Components

COMPONENT NAME COMPONENT VALUE
Transformer 240/24V centre-tapped
Non-polarized capacitor, C2 66nF
Non-polarized capacitor, C1 0.1μF
Electrolytic capacitor 4700μF, 35V
BJT Transistor BC547
Relay 12V coil SPDT
LED Green
Ferrite core inductor: L1, L2 220μH
Resistors: R1, R2 100Ω
Resistor: R3, R4 5kΩ
Resistors: R5, R6 1kΩ
Diodes: D1, D2 1N4148
MOSFETS: Q1,Q2 IRF540
Figure 6: The Receiver Module
Transmitter Coil, L1 0.1026μH
Diode, D5 1N4007
IV. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND PERFORMANCE
ANALYSIS
A. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Design and Development
First, the circuit board was designed with the PCB
development package in Proteus software, making sure that
necessary connections for all the components were
adequately laid out and drawn with different sizes for the
connections based on the amount of current required.
For practical development of the PCB, the heat transfer
method was employed. First, the circuit board layout was
printed using a laser printer on glossy paper used for
magazines. Afterwards, a laminating machine was used to
transfer the ink-printed layout from the paper to a copper
Figure 5: The Transmitter Module board with its oxidation layer scrapped off. This leaves a
layer of ink on the board. Next, the board is immersed into
The receiver module of the wireless power transfer system is an etching chemical to remove the exposed parts of copper
untethered to a wall outlet, picking up all of its power from from the board. The etching leaves only the circuit layout on
the magnetic field generated by the transmitter module. It the board, covered with ink, which was removed with a
consists of a receiving coil, a rectifier circuit, a voltage solution of acetone or methylated spirit. Finally the
regulator to give a constant output voltage and a universal components of the system are soldered onto the board then
serial board connector (USB) connector. its entire layout is covered with soldering lead.
Table 2 outlines the components used in the receiver
module and their values or codes.
Table 2: Receiver Module Components
COMPONENT NAME COMPONENT
CODE/VALUE
Receiver coil, L3 0.1026μH
Non-polarized capacitor 66nF
Diodes: D2, D3, D4, D5 1N4007
Electrolytic Capacitor, 1000μF
Resistor, R1 1kΩ
Voltage Regulator 7805
(a)
U.S.B cable 3.5 mm jack

ISBN: 978-988-14047-1-8 WCECS 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2016 Vol I
WCECS 2016, October 19-21, 2016, San Francisco, USA

Furthermore, power transfer efficiency of the system was

calculated by finding the ratio of the output voltage of the
transmitter to the induced voltage at the receiver end. This
was done for each successive distance using the formula:

𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑥 𝑐𝑚

𝜂= × 100% (1)
𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

The result of the transfer efficiency test is given in Table 5.

Table 5: Transfer Efficiency Test Result

Distance (cm) Transfer Efficiency (%)

0 97
5 81
10 76
(b) 15 69
20 56
Figure 7 (a) and (b): Printed Circuit Boards of the Wireless Power Transfer 25 49
System with layouts covered with soldering lead. 30 32
B. System Performance Analysis
For transmitter performance guarantee, voltage values
are measured at different stages of the transmitter circuit to V. LIMITATIONS OF WORK
obtain the exact values of the voltages at every stage. These
values are needed because they may vary from theoretical A. Large The size of the copper rings that are part of the
values. The result of this test is given in Table 3. LC circuit, which resonate is simply too robust for it
Table 3: Output Voltage Measurement Result of the Transmitter Module to be part of any wireless energy package
B. The range, which is the distance the wireless power
Parameter Voltage Theoretical Actual system can transmit power over is not up to a meter,
Type Value (V) Value (V)
(AC/DC)
in more complex wireless power systems the distance
Transformer AC 12 12 is just a few meters. This is a major hurdle for
Output wireless power networks.
Rectifier DC 12 11.72 C. The wireless power system’s efficiency ranges
Output between 45% and 85%, which is lower than the
Oscillator AC 12 10
output conventional method of power transmission, which
the wireless power system seek to replace.
Also, transmission range was estimated by varying the
distance between the transmitter and the receiver; and by
measuring the induced voltage at the receiver at regular VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
successive intervals. Readings were obtained until no
voltage is induced at the receiver, beyond which the range of Delivery of electric power wirelessly to device using
transmission can correctly be concluded to have been resonant inductive coupling promises greater level of
exceeded. A metre rule was used to monitor the distance convenience to users of portable devices, and eliminates the
between the transmitter and the receiver while a voltmeter environmental threat posed by bad cord and cable disposal.
was used for voltage measurements. The test result is shown With proven concept of wireless power transfer backed up
in Table 4. by well-known principles of physics which assents to its
feasibility, the system which comprise of a transmitting
Table 4: Transmission Range Analysis device tethered to a wall outlet and a receiving device was
successfully implemented through circuit simulations and
Distance (cm) Induced AC Voltage (V)
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) production.
0 9.7
Future work should aim at increasing the amount of
5 8.1 power that can be transferred. A power amplifier can be
employed to increase the output voltage, but this requires a
10 7.6
trade-off between the need for high power and preventing
15 6.9 the circuit temperature from exceeding safe level. On the
other hand, the coil size and the number of turns of wire that
20 5.6 make up the coil can be changed to increase power output.
25 4.9
After an ideal power output is reached, it will be interesting
to explore the effect of different coil orientations and the
30 3.2 presence of extraneous objects on power transfer.

ISBN: 978-988-14047-1-8 WCECS 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2016 Vol I
WCECS 2016, October 19-21, 2016, San Francisco, USA

REFERENCES
[1] Surajit Das Barman, Ahmed Wasif Reza, Narendra Kumar, Md.
Ershadul Karim, Abu Bakar Munir, “Wireless Powering by Magnetic
Resonant Coupling: Recent Trends in Wireless Power Transfer
System and its Applications,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews, vol. 51, pp. 1525–1552, 2015.
[2] Catrysse M, Hermans B, Puers R, “An Inductive Power System with
Integrated Bi-directional Data-Transmission,” Sens Actuators A:
Phys, vol. 115, No. 2, pp. 221–229, 2004.
[3] Sallan J, Villa J. L., Llomart A, Sanz J. F., “Optimal Design of ICPT
Systems Applied to Electric Vehicle Battery Charge,” IEEE Trans Ind
Electron, vol. 56, No. 6, pp. 2140–2149, 2009.
[4] Brown W. C, Eves E. E, “Beamed Microwave Power Transmission
and its Application to Space,” IEEE Trans Microw Theory Tech, vol.
40, No. 6, pp. 1239–50, 1992.
[5] McSpadden J. O, Mankins J. C, “Space Solar Power Programs and
Microwave Wireless Power Transmission Technology, IEEE Microw
Mag, vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 46–57, 2002.
[6] Benford J., “Space Applications of High-Power Microwaves,” IEEE
Trans Plasma Sci, vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 569–581, 2008.
[7] Chattopadhyay G, Manohara H, Mojarradi M, Vo T, Mojarradi H,
Bae S, et al, “Millimeter-Wave Wireless Power Transfer Technology
for Space Applications,” In: Proceedings of the IEEE Asia-Pacific
Microwave Conference, pp. 1–4, 2008.
[8] Sample A P, Yeager D J, Powledge P S, Mamishev A V, Smith J R,
“Design of an RFID-Based Battery-Free Programmable Sensing
Platform,” IEEE Trans Instrum Meas, vol. 57, No. 11, pp. 2608–2615,
2008.
[9] Kurs A, Karilis A, Moffat R, Joannopoulos J. D, Fisher P, Soljačić M,
Wireless Power Transfer via Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonances.
Science, 317 (5834), pp. 83–86, 2007.
[10] W. Bernard Carlson, Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age, Princeton
University Press, 2013.
[11] Karalis A, Joannopoulos J. D, Soljačić M, “Efficient Wireless Non-
Radiative Mid-Range Energy Transfer,” Ann. Phys, vol. 323, No. 1,
pp. 34–48, 2008.
[12] Cheon S, Kim Y. H, Kang S. Y, Lee M. L, Lee J. M, Zyung T,
“Circuit-Model-Based Analysis of a Wireless Energy-Transfer
System via Coupled Magnetic Resonances,” IEEE Trans Ind Electron,
vol. 58, No. 7, pp. 2906–2914, 2011.
[13] Kiani M, Ghovanloo M, “The Circuit Theory Behind Coupled-Mode
Magnetic Resonance-Based Wireless Power Transmission,” IEEE
Trans Circuits Syst I, vol. 59, No. 9, pp. 2065–2074, 2012.
[14] Bou E, Sedwick R, Alarcon E, “Maximizing Efficiency through
Impedance Matching from a Circuit-Centric Model of Non-Radiative
Resonant Wireless Power Transfer,” In: Proceedings of the IEEE
International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), pp. 29–
32, 2013.
[15] Tesla N., Apparatus for Transmitting Electrical Energy, U.S. Patent 1,
119, 732; 1914.
[16] Brown W. C., “The History of Power Transmission by Radio Waves,”
IEEE Transaction on Microwave Theory Tech, vol. 32, No. 9, pp.
1230–42, 1984.
[17] Cheon S, Kim Y. H, Kang S. Y, Lee M. L, Lee J. M, Zyung T,
“Circuit-Model-Based Analysis of a Wireless Energy-Transfer
System via Coupled Magnetic Resonances,” IEEE Trans Ind Electron,
vol. 58, No. 7, pp. 2906–2914, 2011.
[18] Kiani M, Ghovanloo M, “The Circuit Theory Behind Coupled-Mode
Magnetic Resonance-Based Wireless Power Transmission, IEEE
Trans Circuits Syst I, vol. 59, No. 9, pp. 2065–2074, 2012.
[19] Bou E, Sedwick R, Alarcon E, “Maximizing Efficiency through
Impedance Matching from a Circuit-Centric Model of Non-Radiative
Resonant Wireless Power Transfer,” In: Proceedings of the IEEE
International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), pp. 29–
32, 2013.
[20] Brown W. C, Eves E. E, “Beamed Microwave Power Transmission
and its Application to Space,” IEEE Trans Microw Theory Tech, vol.
40, No. 6, pp. 1239–50, 1992.
[21] McSpadden J. O, Mankins J. C, “Space Solar Power Programs and
Microwave Wireless Power Transmission Technology, IEEE Microw
Mag, vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 46–57, 2002.
[22] Benford J., “Space Applications of High-Power Microwaves,” IEEE
Trans Plasma Sci, vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 569–581, 2008.

ISBN: 978-988-14047-1-8 WCECS 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)