Wireless Powered Communication Networks: An Overview

Wireless powered communication network (WPCN) is a new networking paradigm where the battery of wireless communication devices can be remotely replenished by means of microwave wireless power transfer (WPT) technology. WPCN eliminates the need of frequent manual battery replacement/recharging, and thus significantly improves the performance over conventional battery-powered communication networks in many aspects, such as higher throughput, longer device lifetime, and lower network operating cost. However, the design and future application of WPCN is essentially challenged by the low WPT efficiency over long distance and the complex nature of joint wireless information and power transfer within the same network. In this article, we provide an overview of the key networking structures and performance enhancing techniques to build an efficient WPCN. Besides, we point out new and challenging future research directions for WPCN.