A Direct Digital Manufactured RFID System Applied to Teaching Antenna Theory to Pre-College Students

Abstract

Applications of RFID technology are continually increasing, solving problems related with keeping track of objects and persons. For instance, nowadays the fact of knowing the precise location of a shipment is considered essential. On the other hand, antenna principles often seem complicated when they are studied the first time; but the reality is that the main concepts could be explained in a simple and practical way. Furthermore, an early contact with these concepts generates a solid understanding of the phenomena. The RFID system presented in this work is intended to be used with pre-college students, being simple enough to ensure understanding, but also showing interesting antenna designs such as the sinuous antenna. The system is easy to reproduce, using Digital Direct Manufacturing (3D printing) to build it, and convenient to teach antenna principles to students at all levels. Screen printing was the metal deposition of choice since at the high school level this process is easily implemented. Screen printing kits purchased from a craft store can be obtained for less than fifty dollars and can accommodate the antenna design “graphics”. This process can be compared to that of screen printing t-shirts replacing paint with polymer conductive ink. A sinuous antenna is used for the reader and a meandered dipole for the tag. The tag design is flexible enough to allow students to adapt it to different shapes, hence, promoting their creativity.