Analysis of UWB Tag Backscattering and Its Impact on the Detection Coverage

The joint adoption of RFID and UWB technologies is a promising solution to overcome most of the limitations of current RFID systems. In particular, UWB RFID based on the modulation of the backscatter signal represents a good option when tags cost, size and power consumption are stringent requirements. In this context, while for current UHF RFID systems an extensive literature is present, only few studies have concentrated on the backscattering of UWB signals. In the present work, we deal with the electromagnetic analysis of the UWB RFID tag backscattering, which is adopted to characterize the interaction of the tag with a close object. We investigate tag backscattering first from an analytical perspective, then through simulations and measurements. Measured data is then post-processed, and performance in terms of detection coverage analysis is finally assessed to evaluate the effects of an object in proximity to the antenna.