Machine Embroidered Wearable e-textile Wideband UHF RFID Tag Antenna

Upcoming 5th-generation (5G) systems incorporate physical objects (referred to as things), which sense the presence of components such as gears, gadgets, and sensors. They may transmit many kinds of states in the smart city context, such as new deals at malls, safe distances on roads, patient heart rhythms (especially in hospitals), and logistic control at aerodromes and seaports around the world. These serve to form the so-called future internet of things (IoT). From this futuristic perspective, everything should have its own identity. In this context, radio frequency identification (RFID) plays a specific role, which provides wireless communications in a secure manner. Passive RFID tags carry out work using the energy harvested among massive systems. RFID has been habitually realized as a prerequisite for IoT, the combination of which is called IoT RFID (I-RFID). For the current scenario, such tags should be productive, low-profile, compact, easily mountable, and have eco-friendly features. The presently available tags are not cost-effective and have not been proven as green tags for environmentally friendly IoT in 5G systems nor are they suitable for long-range communications in 5G systems. The proposed I-RFID tag uses the meandering angle technique (MAT) to construct a design that satisfies the features of a lower-cost printed antenna over the worldwide UHF RFID band standard (860–960 MHz). In our research, tag MAT antennas are fabricated on paper-based Korsnäs by screen- and flexo-printing, which have lowest simulated effective outcomes with dielectric variation due to humidity and have a plausible read range (RR) for European (EU; 866–868 MHz) and North American (NA; 902–928 MHz) UHF band standards. The I-RFID tag size is reduced by 36% to 38% w.r.t. a previously published case, the tag gain has been improved by 23.6% to 33.12%, and its read range has been enhanced by 50.9% and 59.6% for EU and NA UHF bands, respectively. It provides impressive performance on some platforms (e.g., plastic, paper, and glass), thereby providing a new state-of-the-art I-RFID tag with better qualities in 5G systems.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Compact and Flexible UHF RFID Tag Antenna for Massive IoT Devices in 5G System

Hussain

Amin

Lee

2020

“…However, antennas in RFIDtex tags are frequently made by embroidering or sewing conductive threads [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], by knitting [ 37 ], or using any other method known in the textile industry. These proposals differ in their used threads, substrates, antenna structures, and types of integrated impedance matching elements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One way is to use low-temperature soldering [ 26 ]. However, the most common way is applying bonding with conductive epoxy [ 27 , 31 , 35 , 47 , 48 ]. Also, examples of knitted [ 37 ] and embroidered interconnection can be found [ 29 , 54 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Factors Affecting the Performance of Textronic UHF RFID Transponders

Ziobro,

Jankowski-Mihułowicz,

Węglarski

et al. 2023

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate progress in textronic UHF RFID transponder (RFIDtex tag) technology. The fundamental idea behind the RFIDtex tag design involves galvanic separation between circuits of the sewn antenna and the chip, which are electromagnetically coupled through a system of inductive loops. To advance the development of this concept, it is crucial to detect factors affecting the performance of the transponders. To achieve this goal, a mathematical model of the textronic UHF RFID transponder was developed. It involves relationships that describe the impedance of each element, the mutual inductance of the loops, and the chip voltage, and it enables the exploration of the influence of these variables on general parameters such as impedance matching and read range. Various analytical and numerical approaches were considered to obtain the value of the mutual inductance of the loops. The dimensions and geometry of the antenna, as well as the matching circuit in the microelectronic module, were taken into account. Based on the mathematical model, it was determined that mutual inductance strongly affects the chip voltage for frequencies higher than 800 MHz. The calculations from the mathematical model were compared with numerical simulations. Experimental studies were also conducted to investigate how the transponder performance is affected by either the distance between the centers of the loops or the conductivity of the threads used to embroider the antenna. The measurement results allowed us to conclude that even small imperfections in the manufacturing of the transponder, which slightly increase the vertical or horizontal distance between the centers of the loops, cause a dramatic decrease in the mutual inductance and coupling coefficient, significantly impacting the transponder’s performance.

“…The possibility of using the RFIDtex allows designers to meet requirements of these applications and on the other hand forces the progress in manufacturing low-cost antennas integrated into fabrics by means used in the textile industry [ 8 ]. This objective can be achieved thanks to significant advancements that have been made in the textronics as well as in the radio frequency identification (RFID) technique over the last decade, especially in context of wireless body area networks (WBAN) [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Textronic UHF RFID Transponder

Jankowski-Mihułowicz

Węglarski

Chamera³

et al. 2021

In order to respond the growing interest towards radio frequency identification textile transponders, the authors propose a new approach to design radio frequency identification (RFID) devices by introducing the RFIDtex concept. The coupling system of inductive loops is implemented in the textronic structure with the RFID interface in order to split the transponder into two independently manufactured components. Then both modules can be easily integrated into the RFIDtex tag. The presented simulation and measurement results prove the concept of manufacturing a relatively small antenna in the form of a meandered dipole sewn in with a single thread, and further, that can be connected to the RFID chip through the coupling system without galvanic junctions. The achieved parameters clearly indicate that the tag can correctly communicate with the read/write device as well as the coupling between its both parts works properly, and the impedance matching is possible in this case. The possibility of confectioning products with electronic identification tags at the textile factory site and improved resistance to the impact of environmental conditions are the main advantage of the proposed approach to the RFID devices designing. The RFIDtex transponder idea proposed by the authors was restricted in the patent no PL 231291 B1.