Experimental Study on Brush-Painted Metallic Nanoparticle UHF RFID Tags on Wood Substrates

Due to an increasing interest to add functionality in various products, versatile electronics manufacturing methods are needed for numerous applications. In this letter, ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) tag antennas manufactured by brush-painting directly on wood veneer substrate were examined. Silver and copper nanoparticle inks were used in antenna manufacturing. According to our measurements, brush-painted silver and copper nanoparticle UHF RFID tags showed read ranges of 5 and 3 m, respectively, even when embedded inside wood layers. These read ranges are sufficient for many applications, e.g., in construction and packaging industry, where wood is a common material. The novel manufacturing process, its applications, and the achieved tag performance results are presented in this letter.