Dual-polarized rectenna enables wireless sensing and secure backscatter communication
A New Backscattering Dual-Polarized Rectenna for Wireless Power Transfer and IoT Applications
Cryptography and SecurityNetworking and Internet Architecture
Summary
Wireless devices often need a way to gather power and send information without using batteries. The authors created a special antenna system called a rectenna that not only harvests energy from radio waves but also uses different signal directions to send encrypted messages back. This design works in two modes, one to gather energy and another to communicate securely. They demonstrated this using a simple wireless sensor that sends encrypted data, making it safer against hacking attempts.
What this means in practice
- •For iot device engineers: Build battery-free sensors that harvest energy and securely communicate using dual-polarized backscattering.
- •For security system integrators: Enhance wireless sensor networks with encrypted backscatter signals to protect against relay and eavesdropping attacks.
Authors
Taki Eddine Djidjekh, Quentin Bernyer, Alexandru Takacs
Abstract
This paper proposes an innovative dual-polarized backscattering rectenna that operates in two distinct modesenergy harvesting and backscattering modulation-driven by two-bit digital control signals. By utilizing two orthogonal (co-and cross-) polarizations, the design represents a versatile candidate for IoT applications such as battery-free wireless sensing, identification, localization, and communication. The rectenna's dual functionality is validated through its integration into a proofof-concept battery-free wireless sensor, where it operates both as an energy harvester and as a dual-polarized backscattering modulator. As a proof of concept, a 16-byte AES-128 encrypted payload is backscattered over the wireless power transfer link to enhance the resilience of a battery-free Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless sensor against replay, relay, and eavesdropping attacks.