3D-Printed UHF-RFID Tag for Embedded Applications

Neus Vidal,Arnau Salas Barenys,Luis Jofre,Giselle Gonzalez-Lopez,Josep Maria Lopez-Villegas,Jordi Romeu,Aleix Garcia-Miquel

doi:10.1109/access.2020.3015335

Abstract

This paper presents the design, manufacture and characterization of a novel 3D passive UHF-RFID tag for embedded applications. The prototype is fabricated using additive manufacturing techniques: 3D printing and copper electroplating. The design, manufacturing process and measurement set-up are presented and discussed in detail. We propose a biconical antenna design with spiral strips embedded in the cones to provide compactness without breaking the symmetry of the component and to improve bandwidth. The antenna is matched to a commercial UHF-RFID integrated circuit. We incorporate a packaging design that consists of a dielectric coating, to provide proper operation in different media or surrounding environments with changing electromagnetic properties. The good agreement between experimental results and Finite Element Method simulations allows us to validate the whole process. Finally, a compact capsule-type RFID tag is proposed and its performance in different media is reported.

Highlights

The use of additive manufacturing (AM) techniques to improve the performance of integrated antenna systems has huge potential
An example of an application where compactness and system performance improvement can be of considerable benefit is radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology
After validating the antenna design and the effectiveness of the dielectric coating, we considered the integration of the RFID IC to implement a fully functional device

Summary

Introduction

The use of additive manufacturing (AM) techniques to improve the performance of integrated antenna systems has huge potential. In accordance with all these considerations, in this work, we present the design and characterization of a compact 3D-printed passive UHF-RFID tag for embedded applications. MEASUREMENT SET-UP To validate the design and manufacturing process of the antenna prototypes, it was necessary for us to compare FEM simulation and experimental results.

Results

Conclusion