UHF RFID Tag Design Using Theory of Characteristics Modes for Platform-Tolerant and Harsh Metallic Environments

This paper presents a wideband, long-range RFID tag antenna design with platform tolerant features using characteristic mode analysis (CMA). The proposed design consists of a two-layer structure, that are separated by an air gap. The upper layer consists of T-match and dual loop-based meandered antenna optimized for achieving long read range characteristics in free space/low permittivity dielectrics. The second layer consists of multi-resonant strips printed on a grounded substrate carefully designed using CMA for producing multi-resonant modes in the required UHF RFID band. The multi-resonant strips help in achieving wide bandwidth and isolation between different environment surfaces. This tag antenna provides a wide bandwidth ranging from 900 – 940 MHz that covers both the US UHF RFID band (902 – 928 MHz) and the upper European UHF RFID band (915 – 921 MHz). Moreover, this design achieved a read range of 14.7 m in free space, 14 m on a metal plate, and 13 m on wood, and glass. Furthermore, the proposed antenna was also tested in harsh metal environments such as car number plates and cargo metallic containers. Therefore, the proposed tag can be used for tagging metallic containers, wood containers, and other harsh platforms for cargo management, Asset tracking, supply chain visibility, and Internet of Things (IoT) Applications.