Investigation of Factors Affecting the Performance of Textronic UHF RFID Transponders

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate progress in textronic UHF RFID transponder (RFIDtex tag) technology. The fundamental idea behind the RFIDtex tag design involves galvanic separation between circuits of the sewn antenna and the chip, which are electromagnetically coupled through a system of inductive loops. To advance the development of this concept, it is crucial to detect factors affecting the performance of the transponders. To achieve this goal, a mathematical model of the textronic UHF RFID transponder was developed. It involves relationships that describe the impedance of each element, the mutual inductance of the loops, and the chip voltage, and it enables the exploration of the influence of these variables on general parameters such as impedance matching and read range. Various analytical and numerical approaches were considered to obtain the value of the mutual inductance of the loops. The dimensions and geometry of the antenna, as well as the matching circuit in the microelectronic module, were taken into account. Based on the mathematical model, it was determined that mutual inductance strongly affects the chip voltage for frequencies higher than 800 MHz. The calculations from the mathematical model were compared with numerical simulations. Experimental studies were also conducted to investigate how the transponder performance is affected by either the distance between the centers of the loops or the conductivity of the threads used to embroider the antenna. The measurement results allowed us to conclude that even small imperfections in the manufacturing of the transponder, which slightly increase the vertical or horizontal distance between the centers of the loops, cause a dramatic decrease in the mutual inductance and coupling coefficient, significantly impacting the transponder’s performance.

Textronic Capacitive Sensor with an RFID Interface

“…This loop is coupled to the embroidered antenna, and both elements are isolated from each other. Details of the coupling system of the microelectronic module and the textile antenna can be found in [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. This solution has many advantages over the solution of sewing the antenna to the microelectronic module.…”

“…The operation of the RFID interface was tested, the identifier memory was read and written via the radio interface. Details regarding the coupling of the antenna module and the microelectronic module can be found in [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], as they are not the subject of this publication.…”