A novel high-efficiency portable integrated system for synergistic harvesting of radio frequency and soil energy

•The system has achieved the first collaborative harvesting of RF and soil energy.•The soil energy harvesting device in the system is innovative and convenient.•The system has unity and portability.•Collaborative harvesting has increased the efficiency of the RF rectifier.•The highest RF rectification efficiency reached 73.2%. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have been investigating the harvesting and utilization of ambient radio frequency (RF) energy. In the process of harvesting RF energy, the efficiency of RF rectifiers is crucial for the conversion of RF energy into direct current. To enhance the efficiency of RF rectifiers, soil energy is utilized to provide bias voltage to the diodes in the RF rectifier, thus improving its efficiency. Innovations have been made to the soil energy harvesting device, proposing a cooperative RF and soil energy harvesting system that achieves coordinated harvesting on a single circuit board. The soil energy harvesting device adopts a multi-electrode cross-parallel structure, reducing internal resistance and enhancing load capacity. Following processing, assembly, and testing, the highest RF rectification efficiency reached 73.2%, while the overall efficiency of the cooperative RF and soil energy harvesting circuit reached 60.6%. This research has realized a new cooperative energy harvesting approach, providing a feasible direction for the collaborative harvesting of RF and soil energy.