Proceedings of the 40th European Microwave Conference

Multi-Standard mono-chip HF-UHF RFID tag antenna

T. Deleruyelle, P. Pannier, J. Alarcon, M. Egels, E. Bergeret
IM2NP, RFID sensor team, UMR 6242 CNRS Universites Paul Cezanne, Provence et Sud Toulon-Var, 13451 Marseille Cedex20, France
thibaut.deleruyelle@im2np.fr Abstract This paper presents feasibility study of a multistandard RFID tag antenna. The tag permits to identify items with HF and UHF standard. The tag antenna is composed of two distinct antennas feed thanks to a single chip. UHF antenna is dipole like and HF antenna is a coil antenna. HF impedance leads to a quality factor close to 120. In order to have a resonant frequency at 13.56 MHz, the required RFID chip capacitor is 19 nF. UHF performances lead to a maximum range close to 6.5 meters on European UHF RFID frequency band and higher than 8 meters on FCC UHF RFID band. Substrate is FR4 epoxy with a relative permittivity of 4.4 and a thickness of 0.8mm.

II. TAG ANTENNA DESIGN The proposed antenna's design is matched in UHF band by inductive coupling. The RFID chip is connected to a small aluminum coil as exposed in Fig.1. Connection between RFID chip and HF antenna should be assumed by bounding. For minimizing bound wire's length in order to neglect its influence in HF frequencies, HF coil antenna input must be as closed to the chip as possible. Bound wire's length is 1.5 mm. Substrate sizes are credit card sizes (84x54mm). 84 mm

I. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, RFID systems are commonly used for tracking and identifying supplies or goods. Several RFID standards exist, each has advantages and drawbacks [1]. HF and UHF RFID standards are some of the most used. 13.56 MHz HF RFID standard have the particularity to be a global standard contrary to the UHF RFID standards. UHF RFID frequency band is extended from 860 MHz to 960 MHz but, the regulated frequencies may vary in function of the country. Generally three different frequencies bands are distinguish: 865-868 MHz for Europa, 902-928 MHz for America and 952-954 MHz for Japan and some Asian countries. Even if the regulated frequencies for each country are relatively narrow, tag's antennas need to be broadband in order to be able to work on every countries [2]. This paper presents the feasibility of a single chip dual band HF-UHF RFID tag antenna. Some research are focused on dual band HF and UHF RFID [3-5]. Cost is a non negligible parameter in RFID tag antenna development. For this reason, multi-layered antennas and multi chip solutions are prohibited as presented in [3, 4]. The reason is that those fabrications' processes are too expensive to certify a low cost product. Tag exposed in [5] exposed a multi-band antenna fed by a single chip. These performances in the HF bands are classic for tag antennas operating in this frequency band. However, performances in UHF RFID band suffer from degradations especially the maximum gain. The proposed solution is the combination of two separated antennas fed by a single chip operating in those two frequency bands. After an overview on antenna's design, some simulations will be performed. The simulations are focused on HF and UHF antenna impedances, ranges or quality factor. Influences on the coupling between the antennas are also simulated. Substrate is epoxy 0.8 mm thick with a relative permittivity of 4.4 and tan= 0.02.

HF coil antenna

54 mm

x z y
Aluminum RFID chip coil
Fig. 1 Tag Antennas

UHF antenna

HF Input port

For comparison, the RFID chip's characteristics are common in UHF band. Its input impedance at 915 MHz is Zchip=22-j195 . Its threshold voltage is -15 dBm or 31.6 W. Simulated maximum ranges are computed using eq.1:

RangeMAX =

eq. 1 PEIRP is the maximum regulated power emitted by the reader antenna. PEIRP is the maximum effective isotropic radiated power allowed by regulations. This power is 4W for USA, 3.2 W for Europa. GTAG is the maximum tag antenna's

PEIRPGTAG (1 TAG ) PTH

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gain. TAG is the reflection coefficient between RFID chip and tag antenna. The equations' conditions are a perfect polarization between reader's antenna and tag and a perfect matching for the reader antenna III. SIMULATION
Gain (dBi)

2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 270 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2
2

=0

330

30

300

= 0 deg = 90 deg

60

The main difficulty is to minimize coupling effect between antennas. This coupling effect is visible on UHF tag antenna's reflection coefficient Fig.2 and maximum gain Fig.3. HF antenna's influences on UHF antenna's performances lead to a wide-band effect on reflection coefficient and the maximum gain dismiss.
0 -2 -4 Reflection Coefficient (dB) -6 -8 -10 -12 -14 -16 -18 -20 -22 860 870 880 890 900 910 920 930 Frequency (MHz) 940
With HF antenna Without HF antenna

90

a)

240

120

210
=0

150 180
30

0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 -12 -14 -16 -18 -20 -22 950 960

Gain (dBi)

330

0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 2 70 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 210 150 240 12 0 90 300

= 0 deg = 90 deg

60

b)

Fig. 4 UHF antenna radiation pattern at180 915 MHz along plane: a) with HF coil antenna b) without HF coil antenna
2 0 -2 -4 300
= 90 deg =0

330

30

Fig. 2 Tag antennas reflection coefficient on UHF RFID band

60

1,5 1,0 Maximum Gain (dBi) 0,5 0,0 -0,5 -1,0 -1,5 860 870 880 With HF antenna Without HF antenna

1,5
Gain (dBi)

-6 -8 -10 2 70 -8 -6 -4 240 12 0 -2 0 210 180 =0 330

= 90 deg

1,0 0,5 0,0 -0,5 -1,0 -1,5 950 960

a)

90

2 2 0 -2 -4 -6 300

150

30

890

900 910 920 930 Frequency (MHz)

940

60

b)
Fig. 3 Tag antenna maximum gain

Gain (dBi)

-8 -10 2 70 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 210 180 150 240 12 0 90

Fig. 4 and 5 exposed the UHF tag antenna's radiation patterns at 915 MHz with and without the HF coil antenna. HF coil antenna has a non negligible impact on UHF antenna's radiation pattern. It dismisses the UHF antenna's maximum gain. The major radiation plane is the y,z plane. Maximum gain at 915 MHz is 0.5 dBi.

Fig. 5 UHF antenna radiation pattern at 915 MHz along plane: a) with HF coil antenna b) without HF coil antenna

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Fig.6 exposed the tag maximum range on the entire UHF RFID 860-960 MHz frequency band following eq.1 and its conditions. Maximum range is, on the entire regulate UHF RFID band: higher to 8.8m for USA and 7m for Europa.
10 9 8 Maximum Range (m) 7 6 5 Europa 4 3 2 1 0 860 870 880 890 900 910 920 930 940 950
North America Peirp= 4 W Peirp= 3.2W

IV. 50X50MM TAG ANTENNA It is possible to reduce the overall sizes of the previous antenna as exposed in Fig.9. 50 mm

10 9 8 7 6 5

50 mm

4 3 2 1 0 960

y z x
Fig.9 50x50mm tag antenna

Frequency (MHz)

Fig. 6 Tag antenna maximum range

Fig.7 exposed tag antenna impedance on HF frequency band. UHF antenna has a minor impact on HF antenna's impedance. In order to have the resonant frequency at 13.56 MHz, the equivalent capacitor of the HF part of the chip should be 19 pF. The antenna's quality factor at this frequency is closed to 120 as exposed in Fig.8.
2000 1800 1600 1400 Reactance () 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 0,0 2,5 5,0
13.56 MHz

Due to the highest proximity between HF and UHF antenna, the maximum gain at 915 MHz is -0.45 dBi (Fig.10).
0 -2
=0

25 Reactance with UHF antenna Reactance without UHF antenna Resistance with UHF antenna Resistance without UHF antenna

330

30

20

-4 -6
Gain (dBi)

300

= 0 deg = 90 deg

60

15

-8 -10 270 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 210 180

=0

Resistance ()

a)

90

10

240

120

0 7,5 10,0 12,5 15,0 17,5 20,0 22,5 25,0 Frequency (MHz)

150

150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0,0

Fig. 7 HF antenna impedance

2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 270 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 240 300

330
= 90 deg

30

2,5

5,0

150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 Quality factor with UHF antenna 70 Quality factor without UHF antenna 60 50 40 30 20 13.56 MHz 10 0 7,5 10,0 12,5 15,0 17,5 20,0 22,5 25,0 Frequency (MHz)

60

Quality Factor

b)

Gain (dBi)

90

120

210 180

150

Fig. 8 HF antenna quality factor

Fig. 10 UHF antenna radiation pattern at 915 MHz along : a) plane b) plane

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The 50x50 mm tag antenna's performances on UHF RFID frequency band leads to a maximum range close to 7 meters on Europa and 5 meters on North America (Fig. 11).
9 8 7 Maximum Range (m) 6 5 Europa 4 3 2 1 0 860 870 880 890 900 910 920 930
Peirp= 4 W Peirp= 3.2W

antennas. Reducing the HF antenna, naturally, the required capacitor is more important. REFERENCES
[1] [2] K. Finkenzeller, RFID Handbook: Radio-frequency Identification Fundamentals and Applications, 2nd ed., 2004. A. M. A. Salama and K. M. Quboa, "A New Fractal Loop Antenna For Passive UHF RFID Tags Applications," in Information and Communication Technologies: From Theory to Applications, 2008. ICTTA 2008. 3rd International Conference on, 2008, pp. 1-6. L. Kin Seong, N. Mun Leng, and P. H. Cole, "Miniaturization of dual frequency RFID antenna with high frequency ratio," in Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 2007 IEEE, 2007, pp. 5475-5478. P. Iliev, P. Le Thuc, C. Luxey, and R. Staraj, "Dual-band HF-UHF RFID tag antenna," Electronics Letters, vol. 45, pp. 439-441, 2009. L. W. Mayer and A. L. Scholtz, "A Dual-Band HF / UHF Antenna for RFID Tags," in Vehicular Technology Conference, 2008. VTC 2008Fall. IEEE 68th, 2008, pp. 1-5.

9 8 7 6 5 4 North America 3 2 1 0 940 950 960

[3]

[4] [5]

Frequency (MHz)

Fig. 11 50x50mm tag antenna maximum range

HF tag antenna quality factor is close to 110 at 13.56 MHz as exposed in Fig.12. The required chip for having a resonance at this frequency is 40 pF.
120 100 80 Quality Factor 60 40 20
13,56 MHz

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 10,0 12,5 15,0 17,5 20,0 22,5 25,0 Frequency (MHz)

0 0,0

2,5

5,0

7,5

Fig. 12 50x50mm HF tag antenna quality factor

V. CONCLUSION The presented antenna showed the feasibility of a single chip dual band HF-UHF RFID tag. HF and UHF part of the tag antenna are closed together. Despite that tags characteristics are suitable for classical utilization on each frequency band. Reflection coefficient and maximum gain on UHF frequency band lead to a maximum system range up to 8.8m in USA, 6m in Japan and 7m in Europa. The tag antenna's quality factor at 13.56 MHz is closed to 120. In order to have the resonant frequency at 13.56 MHz the RFID chip capacitor should be closed to 19 pF. This capacitor is relatively low compared to the typical 60 pF capacitor presented in [4, 5]. HF antenna could be match to a greater capacitor by reducing its sizes or the coil's turn number. It's possible to reduce the overall tag's sizes, but the UHF global performances suffer from the proximity between the twice

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