Long-Range Wireless Microwave Power Transmission: A Review of Recent Progress

The concept of long-range microwave power transmission (MPT) has been driven by the desire to remotely power satellites, drones, or some mobile facilities. The advantage of long-range MPT is power transmission over a long distance without the need to deploy a wired power network. However, the overall efficiency, robustness, directional radiation (DR), and so on are still issues that limit the application and further research. In this framework, the key challenges in designing transmitters, DR, and receivers that can guarantee high efficiency and precise tracking for long-range MPT have been acknowledged. Owing to the complexity, the design of the MPT systems remains an open research question. Focusing on the existing constraints, this article not only elaborates on the current major research topics and discusses the development trends but also reviews the design approaches proposed in the state of the art for long-range MPT. This power transmission mechanism shows essential meanings of application in daily life, and the current research status and development prospects for MPT are also presented in this article.