Printable Green RFID Antennas for Embedded Sensors

272 Pages·2013·14.2 MB·English

Printable Green RFID Antennas for Embedded Sensors
YASAR AMIN
Doctoral Thesis in Electronic and Computer Systems
Stockholm, Sweden 2013
TRITA-ICT/ECS AVH 12:12 KTH School of Information and
ISSN 1653-6363 Communication Technology
ISRN KTH/ICT/ECS/AVH-12/12-SE SE-164 40 Kista
ISBN 978-91-7501-619-1 Sweden
Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av Kungl Tekniska högskolan framlägges
till offentlig granskning för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen 2013-02-25,
klockan 13:00 i Sal E, Forum, Isafjordsgatan 39, Kista.
© Yasar Amin, January 10, 2013
Tryck: Universitetsservice US AB
In The Name of God
I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family

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Abstract
Intherecentyears,radio-frequencyidentification(RFID)technologyhas
beenwidelyintegratedintomodernsocietyapplications,rangingfrombarcode
successortoretailsupplychain,remotemonitoring,detectionandhealthcare,
for instance. In general, an RFID tag or transponder is composed of an
antennaandanapplication-specificintegratedcircuitchip. InapassiveUHF
RFID system (which is the focus of presented research), the communication
betweenthetranspondertagandthereaderisestablishedbymodulatingthe
radarcrosssection(RCS)ofthetranspondertag. TheneedforflexibleRFID
tags has recently been increased enormously; particularly the RFID tags for
the UHF band ensure the widest use but in the meantime face considerable
challenges of cost, reliability and environmental friendliness.
The multidimensional focus of the aforementioned research encompasses
theproductionoflow-costandreliableRFIDtags. Thestate-of-the-artfabri-
cationmethodsandmaterialsforproposedantennasareevaluatedinorderto
surmount the hurdles for realization of flexible green electronics. Moreover,
thisworkaddressesthenewrisingissuesinterrelatedtothefieldofeconomic
and eco-friendly tags comprising of paper substrate. Paper substrates offer
numerous advantages for manufacturing RFID tags, not only is paper exten-
sivelyavailable,andinexpensive;itislightweight,recyclableandcanberolled
or folded into 3D configurations.
ThemostimportantaspectofanRFIDsystem’sperformanceistheread-
ingrange. Inthisresearchseveralpivotalchallengesforitem-leveltagging,are
resolved by evolving novel structures of progressive meander line, quadrate
bowtieandroundedcornerbowtieantennasinordertomaximizethereading
distancewithapriorselectedmicrochipunderthevariousconstraints(suchas
limited antenna size, specific antenna impedance, radiation pattern require-
ments). This approach is rigorously evolved for the realization of innovative
RFIDtagantennawhichhasincorporatedhumiditysensorfunctionalityalong
with calibration mechanism due to distinctiveness of its structural behavior
whichwillbeanoptimalchoiceforfutureubiquitouswirelesssensornetwork
(WSN) modules.
The RFID market has grown in a two-dimensional trend, one side con-
stitutes standalone RFID systems. On the other side, more ultramodern
approachispavingitsway,inwhichRFIDneedstobeintegratedwithbroad
operational array of distinct applications for performing different functions
including sensors, navigation, broadcasting, and personal communication, to
mention a few. Using different antennas to include all communication bands
is a straightforward approach, but at the same time, it leads to increase
cost,weight,moresurfaceareaforinstallation,andaboveallelectromagnetic
compatibility issues. The indicated predicament is solved by realization of
proposed single wideband planar spirals and sinuous antennas which covers
several bands from 0.8–3.0GHz. These antennas exhibit exceptional perfor-
mance throughout the operational range of significance, thus paving the way
for developing eco-friendly multi-module RF industrial solutions.

Acknowledgements
ThehighestpraiseisGod’sforsupportingmeduringthisandallotherstepsofmy
life. One of the joys of completion is to look over the journey past and remember
all the friends and family who have helped and supported me along this long but
fulfilling road.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Hannu Tenhunen,
Professor Li-Rong Zheng, and Dr. Qiang Chen, who are not only mentors but dear
friends. Icouldnothaveaskedforbetterrolemodels,eachinspirational,supportive,
and patient. I could not be prouder of my academic roots and hope that I can in
turn pass on the research values, and the dreams that they have given to me.
My colossal thanks to Professor Axel Jantsch for his help and generous support
during my PhD work. I would also like to thank Professor Urban Westergren who
providedencouragingandconstructivefeedback. Itisnoeasytask,reviewingathe-
sis, and I am grateful for his thoughtful and comprehensive comments. It gives me
great pleasure in acknowledging the support and help of Professor Elena Dubrova.
To the many anonymous reviewers of the various conferences and journals, thanks
for helping to shape and guide the direction of the work with your careful and
instructive comments. I would like to thank all former and current administra-
tive staff at KTH, especially Alina Munteanu for her brilliant administrative work.
Thanks IT service groups at KTH to keep servers and computers alive.
As a member of iPack VINN Excellence Center and Electronic Systems de-
partment, I have been surrounded by glorious colleagues; both communities have
provided a rich and fertile environment to study and explore new ideas. I acknowl-
edgevaluablediscussionwithallofmyfriendsandcolleaguesatKTH;BotaoShao,
Ana Lopez Cabezas, Geng Yang, Yi Feng, Awet Yemane Weldezion and Liu Zhiy-
ing for being working as an impressive team member throughout my PhD studies.
I appreciate my dear friends, Muhammad Ali Shami, Omar Malik and Muham-
mad Adeel Tajammul for their excellent support throughout my MBA and PhD
studies. I would like to thank Dr. Fredrik Jonsson, Dr. Majid Baghaei Nejad and
Dr. Julius Hållstedt for always welcoming me as a friend and helping to develop
the ideas in this thesis. Professor Antti Paasio, Professor Pasi Malinen, Profes-
sor Pasi Liljeberg, Rajeev Kumar Kanth, Sari Stenvall-Virtanen, colleagues at the
TSE and TUCS, Turku University, thank you.
My personal thanks to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan,
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viii
and University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, Pakistan for awarding me
a scholarship and an opportunity to pursue my education towards PhD in Sweden
whichultimatelyblendedwithMBAprogrammeforPhDstudents. Ialsoappreciate
the financial support provided by iPack center for the PhD research work.
My special thanks to my father who shares my passions and rekindling dreams.
My profound thankfulness to my mother, and my parents-in-law for their infinite
patience and love.
I also appreciate my brothers especially Saad Amin and my beloved sister and
also my brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law for their love and prayers. Finally, but
most importantly, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to Aiysha, my dear
wife, for her enormous help and support. All of my achievements have an invisible
part of your contribution.
Yasar Amin, 2013
Contents
Contents ix
List of Figures xiii
List of Tables xvii
List of Acronyms xix
List of Publications xxiii
Summary of the included papers xxvii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Ubiquitous Sensor Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 Evolution of RFID-Enabled Ubiquitous Sensing . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 RFID Classification and Principles of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.1 Near-field Coupling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.2 Far-field Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.3 Active RFID Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.4 Passive RFID Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3 Components of Passive RFID Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4 Future Trends and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4.1 Design Challenges for RFID Tag Antennas . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5 Author’s Contribution and Thesis Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5.1 Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5.2 Thesis Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.6 Thesis Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2 State-of-the-Art Technology for RFID 17
2.1 Organic and Printed Electronics for RFID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1.1 Materials and Inks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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2.1.2 Paper as an Economical Environmentally Friendly RF Sub-
strate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2 Manufacturing Technologies Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.1 Screen Printing – (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.2 Rotary Printing – (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.3 Dry Phase Patterning – (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2.4 Inkjet Printing – (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3 RFID Antennas: Narrow-Band 27
3.1 Progressive Meander Line Antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1.1 Antennas Design Evolution & Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1.2 Antennas Fabrication Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.1.3 Parametric Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.2 Quadrate Bowtie RFID Antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.2.1 Antenna Dimensions and Parametric Optimization . . . . . . 34
3.2.2 Antenna Effective Aperture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.2.3 Skin Depth Effect and Antenna Performance . . . . . . . . . 35
3.2.4 Result Analysis and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.5 Analysis for Industrial Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4 RFID Antennas: Wideband 43
4.1 Bowtie Antenna: Rounded Corners with T–Matching. . . . . . . . . 43
4.1.1 Antenna Dimensions and Parametric Optimization . . . . . . 43
4.1.2 Field and Circuit Concepts Parametric Analysis . . . . . . . 44
4.2 Bowtie Antenna: Rounded Corners with Hole–Matching Technique . 47
4.2.1 Antenna Design and Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2.2 Effect of Annealing Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.2.3 Results Discussion and Parametric Analysis . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.2.4 Sustainability and Environmental Impacts Analysis. . . . . . 51
4.3 Bowtie Antenna: Square Hole–Matching Technique . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.3.1 Antenna Design Numerical Analysis and Optimization . . . . 54
4.3.2 Results Discussion and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5 RFID Antennas: Sensor-Enabled 61
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2 Archimedean Spiral Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.2.1 Synthesis of the Antenna Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.2.2 Manufacturing Parametric Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.2.3 Field & Circuit Concepts Parametric Analysis. . . . . . . . . 66
5.3 Log-Spiral Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.3.1 Synthesis of the Antenna Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69