Online

Grecco, Ryan F.

Electrical Engineering

2017

MS

Long range wireless power transmission (WPT) is a critical technology for the development of remote power systems for air and space vehicles as well as for point-to-point transmission on Earth. This can be achieved using either a laser for transmission in the infrared to optical frequency domain or by using microwaves. The objective of this research is to study the application of microwave power transmission (MPT) through the use of a so-called Bessel-beam whose unique propagation properties include a self-healing ability as well as non-diffractive properties. These two unique properties lead to an increase in the efficiency of microwave power transmission. In this research the propagation of a microwave Bessel-beam through a spatially inhomogeneous medium will be simulated in MATLAB using a plane wave spectrum representation of the electromagnetic beam field. The spatially inhomogeneous medium of interest here is the Earth's atmosphere whose electromagnetic properties (dielectric permittivity and electric conductivity) vary with altitude up through the ionosphere. The purpose of this research is to determine how efficiently a microwave Bessel beam can propagate in point-to-point transmission through the Earth's atmosphere as well as between satellites in Earth orbit.