A Design Methodology for Sensing-Ready Concentric Rings-Based Chipless RFID Tags With Effective Spectrum Use and High Coding Capacity

Abstract

This paper introduces an innovative strategy for the development of sensing-ready concentric rings-based chipless radio frequency identification (CRFID) tags. Our approach is marked by the novel use of exponentially increasing spacing, a significant departure from the conventional uniform spacing method. This innovative design results in an impressive 88.2% improvement in tag data encoding capacity compared to traditional designs. Importantly, our design framework not only advances the current state of CRFID tag technology but also methodically lays the foundation for future integration of high-resolution sensing capabilities. This is achieved by strategically utilizing the innermost ring as a prospective sensing site, complemented by the implementation of nulls for data encoding achieved through the addition of an extra ring at the tag’s outermost edge. Notably, all these features represent advancements that have not been demonstrated in previously published concentric rings-based CRFID tags. To empirically validate our methodology, we have developed and tested 18-bit example tags optimized for operation within the ultrawideband (UWB) spectrum, covering a range from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. The radar cross-section (RCS) response of these tags exhibits well-distributed resonances, culminating in a high encoding capacity of 17.65 bits/ $\lambda ^{2}$ /GHz. Preliminary results using capacitors connected to the innermost ring underscore the future sensing potential of our tags, setting the stage for more advanced sensing implementations in subsequent research.