Publication: Design of UHF RFID fabric tag antenna
Date
2024-07
Authors
Jeewan a/l Ravi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Over the past few decades, there has been a growing demand for radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, which offer enhanced performance across various
industrial applications and consumers such as object tracking and automatic identification. Despite these developments, the textile retail industry still uses barcodes for product tracking, a technique that relies on human scanning and results in less efficiency. Moreover, the limitations of barcode-based tracking, including vulnerability to theft, highlight the need for more effective alternatives. Implementing RFID technology in these systems enhances efficiency and performance. This project focuses on designing a fabric tag antenna compatible that works under Malaysia's UHF RFID system which is between 919 MHz and 923 MHz. The antenna uses woven conductive fabric for both the radiating patch and ground, with felt fabric as the substrate. The antenna is designed and analyzed using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio. The prototype of the antenna is manually fabricated to validate its performance and findings. Measurement results show a return loss S11 of -19.17 dB at 921 MHz and a bandwidth of 17 MHz (913.5 - 930.5 MHz). The measured gain reaches 1.51 dB at the same frequency. Overall, the fabricated antenna shows good agreement between measurement and simulation results. Moreover, return loss and gain effects of fabricated antenna under wet and dry conditions were discussed.