Electrically-Shielded Coil-Enabled Battery-Free Wireless Sensing for Underwater Environmental Monitoring

Abstract

Battery-free wireless sensing in extreme environments, such as conductive solutions, is crucial for long-term, maintenance-free monitoring, eliminating the limitations of battery power and enhancing durability in hard-to-reach areas. However, in such environments, the efficiency of wireless power transfer via radio frequecny (RF) energy harvesting is heavily compromised by signal attenuation and environmental interference, which degrade antenna quality factors and detune resonance frequencies. These limitations create substantial challenges in wirelessly powering miniaturized sensor nodes for underwater environmental monitoring. To overcome these challenges, electrically-shielded coils with coaxially aligned dual-layer conductors are introduced that confine the electric field within the coil's inner capacitance. This configuration mitigates electric field interaction with the surrounding medium, making the coils ideal for use as near-field antennas in aquatic applications. Leveraging these electrically-shielded coils, a metamaterial-enhanced reader antenna was developed and a 3-axis sensor antenna for an near-field communication (NFC)-based system. The system demonstrated improved spectral stability, preserving resonance frequency and maintaining a high-quality factor. This advancement enabled the creation of a battery-free wireless sensing platform for real-time environmental monitoring in underwater environments, even in highly conductive saltwater with salinity levels of up to 3.5%.