Experimentally validated smart card ultra-high frequency tag antenna for free space and near body scenarios

This investigation primarily promotes a ultra-high frequency radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag antenna for complex environment applications of smart card in free space and near body scenarios. It also considers other high dielectric materials such as water and metallic objects. A dual dipole antenna with T-match structure is chosen due to the advantage of providing high resilience towards change in impedance of high dielectrics, and to ensure the reception of maximum signals at the blind spots of the antenna. The proposed geometry facilitates placement of other off-the-shelf high and low-frequency antennas on the card, enabling more features, higher performance, and minimum field interaction between different frequencies. A presented RLC equivalent circuit model estimates the impact of body layers on antenna impedance. A high read range of 7.7 m in free space, 5.2 m near body and 2.8 m at the blind spots is obtained. The novelty is shown by testing the antenna near metals and water, achieving high read range without any design modifications. The proposed tag aims to provide new RFID applications that demand small size, less volume, low cost and multifunctionality over various constraints while showing good agreement with sensitivity, impedance matching and the read range.