A novel tag design using inverted-F antenna for radio frequency identification of metallic objects

This paper presents novel inverted-F antenna (IFA) designs for passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag applications. These designs can be used in identifying objects that consist of metal or other conductive material. Different substrate and superstrate materials are studied and used to test their effect on the performance of the antenna designs. The antenna performance is studied by a series of finite element method (FEM) simulations. The experimental validation of the read ranges of the tag prototypes in air and attached to metal is carried out to verify the performance of the designs. The experimental tests show that read ranges between 0.5 m and 1 m can be achieved when the prototypes are attached to metal.