Fully printed chipless RFID tags using dipole array structures with enhanced reading ranges

Abstract

This article proposes a design of chipless RFID tag with dipole array structure that is fully printable using conductive ink. The proposed tags encode data based on spectral signature modulations. The reading range is considerably increased (2 m) while maintaining low transmission power (1 mW). Several prototype chipless RFID tags were fabricated and measured in the SHF and UHF bands. The proposed dipole array structure enhances the antenna gain of the passive tags and contributes to overcoming the low conductivity of conductive ink. In order to verify the utility of our proposal, the tags are manufactured on paper, using conductive ink, for the purpose of economic mass production.