Direct-excitation transmitter for electrically small antennas
This technology is a compact radio transmitter that drives a small antenna using a switched capacitor circuit fed by a simple constant-voltage source, rather than the variable-voltage amplifiers traditionally required. By rapidly switching a capacitor between a charging phase and a discharge phase directly into the antenna, the circuit simultaneously tunes the antenna's resonant frequency and delivers the energy needed to radiate a signal. The result is a simpler, lower-component-count transmitter architecture that can achieve relatively high data rates despite using a physically small antenna. This matters because electrically small antennas are otherwise notoriously inefficient and hard to drive at useful power levels.
What you could build
A compact, low-cost wireless transmitter module for IoT sensors, wearables, or implantable medical devices where antenna size is severely constrained; target buyers are consumer electronics OEMs, medical device manufacturers, and defense contractors building miniaturized radios.
Who in Virginia should care
Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads defense and intelligence contractors developing miniaturized communications hardware, plus the regional IoT and wearable device startup ecosystem.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- —
- Granted
- February 26, 2019
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 102847
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.