OAM-SWIPT for IoE-Driven 6G

Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), which achieves both wireless energy transfer (WET) and information transfer, is an attractive technique for future Internet of Everything (IoE) in the sixth-generation (6G) mobile communications. With SWIPT, battery-less IoE devices can be powered while communicating with other devices. Line-of-sight (LOS) RF transmission and near-field inductive coupling based transmission are typical SWIPT scenarios, which are both LOS channels and without enough degree of freedom for high spectrum efficiency as well as high energy efficiency. Due to the orthogonal wavefronts, orbital angular momentum (OAM) can facilitate the SWIPT in LOS channels. In this article, we introduce the OAM-based SWIPT as well as discuss some basic advantages and challenges for it. After introducing the OAM-based SWIPT for IoE, we first propose an OAM-based SWIPT system model with the OAM-modes assisted dynamic power splitting (DPS). Then, four basic advantages regarding the OAM-based SWIPT are reviewed with some numerical analyses for further demonstrating the advantages. Next, four challenges regarding integrating OAM into SWIPT and possible solutions are discussed. OAM technology provides multiple orthogonal streams to increase both spectrum and energy efficiencies for SWIPT, thus creating many opportunities for future WET and SWIPT researches.