A conformal antenna on a passive UHF RFID tag using 97% carbon content graphene-based conductors and paper substrates

Passive UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are being applied to many different industries and because of this, these systems are being required to operate in complex electromagnetic environments. This may require tags to operate on different surface types or time varying shapes. This paper presents a conformal antenna design that can be used on a passive UHF RFID tag with a paper substrate. More specifically, instead of copper conductors for the antenna, commercially available 97% carbon content graphene-based material is used to mitigate conductor failure; which has been observed in copper-based conformal antenna designs. Simulations and read-range measurements (2.1 meters) of a prototype UHF passive RFID tag with graphene-based conductors and dimensions similar to commercially available copper-based designs are shown.