volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

In this paper, magnetic material was applied in the design of a UHF-RFID metal tag to increase the reading distance. The influence of the electromagnetic properties, especially the electromagnetic loss, of magnetic substrate on the gain of the tag antenna is discussed by analyzing the reflection and the surface current distribution. As to folded antenna, the loss of energy caused by the magnetic substrate tends to occur in the folding edge of the antenna. Both simulations and experiments indicate that electromagnetic loss markedly reduces the gain rapidly when both the dielectric loss tangent (tanδ) and the magnetic loss tangent (tanδm) are between 0 and 0.3. The reading distance drops from 3 m to 1.5 m when the tanδm of the magnetic composite substrate increases from 0.009 to 0.023. And tanδm should be less than 0.1 for the antenna working excellently. The conclusion offers meaningful guidance for future studies of magnetic substrate folded metal tag.

1. Raumonen, P., L. Sydanheimo, L. Ukkonen, et al. "Folded dipole antenna near metal plate," IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, Vol. 1, 848-851, 2003. Google Scholar

2. Chen, S.-L., S.-K. Kuo, and C.-T. Lin, "A metallic RFID tag design for steel-bar and wire-rod management application in the steel industry," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 91, 195-212, 2009.
doi:10.2528/PIER09021304 Google Scholar

3. Son, H. W., H. G. Jeon, and J. H. Cho, "Flexible wideband UHF RFID tag antenna for curved metal surfaces," Electronics Letters, Vol. 48, No. 13, 749-750, 2012.
doi:10.1049/el.2012.1030 Google Scholar

4. Bjorninen, T., A. A. Babar, L. Ukkonen, L. Sydanheimo, A. Z. Elsherbeni, and J. Kallioinen, "Compact metal mountable UHF RFID tag on a barium titanate based substrate," Progress In Electromagnetics Research C, Vol. 26, 43-57, 2012.
doi:10.2528/PIERC11110208 Google Scholar

5. Mo, L., H. Zhang, and H. Zhou, "Broadband UHF RFID tag antenna with a pair of U slots mountable on metallic objects," Electronics Letters, Vol. 44, No. 20, 1173-1174, 2008.
doi:10.1049/el:20089813 Google Scholar

6. Paredes, F., G. Zamora, S. Zu?anelli, F. J. Herraiz-Martinez, F. Martin, and J. Bonache, "Free-pace and on-metal dual-band tag for UHF-RFID applications in Europe and USA," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 141, 577-590, 2013.
doi:10.2528/PIER13051312 Google Scholar

7. Abu, M., M. K. A. Rahim, M. K. Suaidi, et al. "A triple-band dipole antenna with 0.92 GHz AMC-HIS," IEEE 2010 International Conference on Computer and Communication Engineering (ICCCE), 1-4, 2010.
doi:10.1109/ICCCE.2010.5556792 Google Scholar

8. Kuo, S. K., J. Y. Hsu, and Y. H. Hung, "Analysis and design of an UHF RFID metal tag using magnetic composite material as substrate," Progress In Electromagnetics Research B, Vol. 24, 49-62, 2010.
doi:10.2528/PIERB10070107 Google Scholar

9. Rao, K. V. S., P. V. Nikitin, and S. F. Lam, "Antenna design for UHF RFID tags: A review and a practical application," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 53, No. 12, 3870-3876, 2005.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2005.859919 Google Scholar

10. Nikitin, P. V., K. V. S. Rao, S. F. Lam, et al. "Power reflection coefficient analysis for complex impedances in RFID tag design," IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 53, No. 9, 2721-2725, 2005.
doi:10.1109/TMTT.2005.854191 Google Scholar

11. Kraus, J. D. and R. J. Marhefka, Antennas, 3rd edition, Chapter 13, McGraw-Hill, 2002.

12. Yang, L., L. Martin, D. Staiculescu, C. P. Wong, and M. M. Tentzeris, "A novel flexible magnetic composite material for RFID, wearable RF and bio-monitoring applications," Proc. of the IEEE --- IMS Symposium, 963-966, Atlanta, GA, Jun. 2008. Google Scholar

13. Alien Technology, MorganHill, CA, , USA, 2014, http://www.alientechnology.com/ic/. Google Scholar

14. Marrocco, G., "The art of UHF RFID antenna design: Impedance-matching and size-reduction techniques," IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 50, No. 1, 66-79, 2008.
doi:10.1109/MAP.2008.4494504 Google Scholar

Dr. Mengran Guan

Dr. Difei Liang

Dr. Xin Wang

Dr. Yong Wang

Dr. Long-Jiang Deng