Inductive and capacitive impedance matching are two different techniques optimizing power transfer in magnetic resonance inductive wireless power transfer. Under ideal conditions, i.e., unrestricted parameter ranges and no loss, both approaches can provide the perfect match. Comparing these two techniques under non-ideal conditions, to explore fundamental differences in their performance, is a challenging task as the two techniques are fundamentally different in operation. In this paper, we accomplish such a comparison by determining matchable impedances achievable by these networks and visualizing them as regions of a Smith chart. The analysis is performed over realistic constraints on parameters of three different application cases both with and without loss accounted for. While the analysis confirms that it is possible to achieve unit power transfer efficiency with both approaches in the lossless case, we find that the impedance regions where this is possible, as visualized in the Smith chart, differ between the two approaches and between the applications. Furthermore, an analysis of the lossy case shows that the degradation of the power transfer efficiencies upon introduction of parasitic losses is similar for the two methods.
Maximum efficiency solution for capacitive wireless power transfer with N receivers