Multi-dimensional ultra-high frequency passive radio frequency identification tag antenna designs

Abstract

In this thesis, we present the design, simulation, and empirical evaluation of two novel multi-dimensional ultra-high frequency (UHF) passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag antennas, the Albano-Dipole antenna and the Albano-Patch antenna, that provide omnidirectional communication capabilities. The performance of a passive UHF RFID tag is highly dependent upon the tag's antenna design, the tag's placement on an item, the materials in the item, and the item's surrounding environment. The majority of existing commercial tag antennas are two-dimensional making the tags a) orientation-sensitive, working well in some directions and not at all in others, and b) susceptible to communication interference from the contents of the tagged object. The Albano antenna designs are three-dimensional, affording the tags to be minimally affected by object material while maintaining near omnidirectional performance. The Albano antenna designs provide significantly improved orientation insensitivity compared with existing widely deployed commercial tag antenna designs.