A New Chipless RFID Permittivity Sensor System

Abstract

Permittivity sensing is commonly utilized in multiple fields for various applications. In this study, an enhanced RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) permittivity sensor system is designed. Additionally, we investigated the signal processing procedures in a stepwise manner to obtain the resultant graphs. For validation, a simplified system including a reader and a tag is tested. The reader in the system comprises a pulse generator and a pair of antennas connected to an oscilloscope, whereas the tag comprises an antenna and a delay line sensor. The pulse generator produces short pulses of less than 1 ns periodically, whereas the short-ended delay line on the tag acts as a sensor, wherein the delay time of the traversing wave is primarily associated with the relative permittivity of the material under test (MUT). We tested the system to derive an equation for the value of relative permittivity of the MUT using the measured signal. The system was calibrated by performing both unloaded and air tests to obtain measurement equations. Moreover, an additional test validated the water permittivity sensing, and the relative permittivity measured was 78.1. Considering the errors affecting the measurements, the measured relative permittivity of water concurs with the actual value.