Passive UHF Inkjet-Printed Narrow-Line RFID Tags

In this letter, we present a novel radio frequency identification (RFID) tag design optimized especially for the inkjet printing process. These tags are printed using narrow conductors, which enables low cost and fast manufacturing rate. We have manufactured such tag designs using three different line widths: 50, 125, and 200 μm. In this letter, we present the simulation and measurement results. We have also included a comparison between the novel narrow-line tag and a dipole-type commercial tag. Results are encouraging; the read range of the narrow-line tag is comparable to the read range of the commercial tag even though the commercial tag is made of copper, which has approximately two times higher conductivity than the silver ink used in this study. Moreover, the narrow-line tag antenna needs 83% less conductor surface area than the antenna geometry of the commercial tag. This means a significant drop in the manufacturing costs.