Design of a Linearly Polarized Slotted-Square Patch antenna for RFID Reader Applications

The goal of this paper is to investigate the design of linearly polarized square patch MSA with slotted ground for RFID reader applications. The proposed antenna consists of a microstrip patch with square-shape, and a slotted ground plane (with four U-shaped slots) on the back. The antenna operates at 2.42 GHz with a peak realized gain of 3.95 dBi and shows omnidirectional radiation characteristics. The overall size of the antenna is 30.4×30.4×1.6 mm³ and is found compact concerning some recent RFID reader antennas. The propagation test of antenna is performed through different mediums like free space, cloth, and cardboard and it is observed that the performace of the antenna is nearly same in all conditions. So the antenna can be used for short-range RFID reader applications.