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Inkjet-printed passive UHF RFID tags: review and performance evaluation

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Abstract

In this paper, the performance and the feasibility of inkjet-printed dipole RFID tag antennas are experimentally studied in the implementation of identifying objects with different electromagnetic properties. To estimate the performance quality, we compare our results to those obtained using traditional etched copper dipole tag antennas. We first examine the performance characteristics, i.e. the read range and the radiation patterns, of tags in free space. Then we attach the tags directly to target objects and compare the optimum performance on target objects to that of the tag in free space. The obtained results provide information about the behaviour of inkjet-printed tag antennas on different objects. This information can be used to optimize the inkjet-printed tag antenna performance for use on objects with different characteristics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronics, Rauma Research Unit, Tampere University of Technology, Kalliokatu 2, 26100, Rauma, Finland

    Karoliina Koski, Eveliina Koski, Juha Virtanen, Toni Björninen, Lauri Sydänheimo & Leena Ukkonen

  2. Electrical Engineering Department, The University of Mississippi, University, Oxford, MS, 38677, USA

    Atef Z. Elsherbeni

Authors
  1. Karoliina Koski
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  2. Eveliina Koski
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  3. Juha Virtanen
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  4. Toni Björninen
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  5. Lauri Sydänheimo
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  6. Leena Ukkonen
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  7. Atef Z. Elsherbeni
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Correspondence to Karoliina Koski.

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Koski, K., Koski, E., Virtanen, J. et al. Inkjet-printed passive UHF RFID tags: review and performance evaluation. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 62, 167–182 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-011-3782-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-011-3782-8

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