Dharmendra.Gutta*,et al.
/ (IJAEST) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ENGINEERING SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES
SHF Passive RFID Tag Antenna Section
Design for Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)
Application
Dharmendra.Gutta A.Vijaya Sankar
M.Tech Student Asst.Professor
V.R.S.E.C V.R.S.E.C
Vijayawada Vijayawada
dharmas334@gmail.com vijayasankar.anumala@gmail.com
Abstract-A SHF passive RFID Tag with two different antennas
for transmission and reception in the frequency range of
5.8GHZ is proposed .A microstrip patch antenna for RFID
Tag receiving and dipole antenna for transmission .The
software used for the design is HFSS designing software .The
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factors considered in designing tag antenna circuit are
efficiency, read range, power consumption, responding time
and size.
Index terms- radio frequency identification (RFID) tag
antenna ,dipole antenna, microstrip patch antenna.
I. INTRODUCTION
Wireless technology advancements have given birth
to radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, which
have generated significant interest and hype among
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scientists, researchers and industry. RFID technology
enables identification, location and information exchange of
distant objects via radio waves . It has been commercialized
in areas of logistics, manufacturing, transportation, health
care, and mobile communications. Basically RFID system is
a tag or transponder and a transceiver or reader. The tag
consists of an antenna combined with an application-
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specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip. In order to activate
and detect a tag, a base station (reader) transmits a
modulated signal with periods of unmodulated carrier.
The microstrip patch antenna is one of the most
exciting and fascinating development in antenna and
electromagnetic (EM) history . It falls into the category of
printed antennas such as dipoles, slots, and tapered slots.
This is due to their distinguished features including ease of
integration, good radiation control and low cost of
production. This antenna is a resonant style radiator so one
of its dimensions must be λ/2 where λ is a guided
wavelength taking into accounts the surrounding
environment of the printed antenna. The resonant dimension
depends on the shape of the patch conductor. It is obvious
that the substrate properties such as dielectric constant εr and
its height play vital role in the antenna performance. The
main advantage of patch antenna is its size which is
ISSN: 2230-7818 @ 2011 http://www.ijaest.iserp.org. All rights Reserved.
Vol No. 5, Issue No. 2, 139 - 143
M. Kanthikiran Dr. K. Sri Rama Krishna
Lecturer Professor & Head
V.R.S.E.C V.R.S.E.C
Vijayawada Vijayawada
kantikiran81@google.com srk_kalva@yahoo.com
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relatively small compared to other radiators. The minimal
thickness of the material or profile allows microstrip patch
antenna to be easily integrated into the skins of various
objects.
Integrating microstrip patch antenna for receiving
and printed dipole antenna for transmission with RFID
technology achieves significant performance and cost
advantage due to its light weight, low fabrication cost, and
the ability to fabricate feed lines and matching networks
simultaneously with the antenna structure. One of the major
disadvantages of patch antenna is its narrow bandwidth,
however, RFID applications do not need much bandwidth,
and it turns out to be an advantage, because the antenna
rejects the signals that are out of the band and accordingly
the quality factor increases.
II. THEORY AND DESIGN
A. Design considerations:
Several general RFID tag design requirements whose
relative importance depends on tag application are discussed
in the following paragraph. These requirements largely
determine the criteria for selecting an RFID tag antenna.
 Frequency band: Desired frequency band of
operation depends on the regulations of the country
where tag will be used.
 Size and form: Tag form and size must be such that
it can be embedded or attached to the required
objects Or fit inside a printed label.
 Read range: Minimum required read range is
usually specified for different tags:
 EIRP: EIRP is determined by local country
regulations.
 Objects: Tag performance changes when it is
placed on different objects (e.g. cardboard boxes
with various content), or when other objects are
present in the vicinity of the tagged object. Tag
antenna can be designed or tuned for optimum
performance on particular object or designed to be
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Vol No. 5, Issue No. 2, 139 - 143

less sensitive to the content on which the tag is placed. range, antenna gain, and impedance which give to a designer a
 Orientation: Read range depends on antenna good understanding of the antenna behaviour.
orientation. Some applications require a tag to have a In the last step of the design process, prototypes are
specific directivity pattern such as omnidirectional or built and their performance is measured extensively. I design
hemispherical coverage. requirements are satisfied, the antenna design is ready.
 Applications with mobility: RFID tag will be used in Otherwise, the design is further modified and optimized until
situations where tagged car moving at speeds up to 1 requirements are met.
km/hr. The Doppler shift in this case is less than 30
Hz at 5.8 GHz and does not affect RFID operation. DESIGN:
However, the tag spends less time in the read field of Proposed RFID tag antenna section:
RFID reader, demanding high read rate capability. In
such cases, RFID system must be carefully planned to
ensure reliable tag identification.
 Cost: RFID tag must be a low-cost device. This
imposes restrictions both on antenna structure and on
the choice of materials for its construction including
the ASIC used. Typical conductors used in tags are
copper, aluminium, and silver ink. The dielectrics
include flexible Polyester and rigid PCB substrates

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like FR4.
 Reliability: RFID tag must be a reliable device that
can sustain variations due to temperature, humidity,
Fig. 1. RFID tag antenna design process.
stress, and survive such processes as label insertion,
printing and lamination.
Why do we use different antenna for transmission and
B. Design Process
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RFID tag antenna performance strongly depends on
the frequency dependent complex impedance presented by the
chip.
reception?The required reception and transmission
characteristics of RFID tag for electronic toll collection
application are different.
Why do we use circular microstrip patch antenna for
Tag read range must be closely monitored in the design
receiving?
process in order to satisfy design requirements. Since antenna
 Maximum aperture area for maximum power
size and frequency of operation impose limitations on
reception.
maximum attainable gain and bandwidth, compromises have to
be made to obtain optimum tag performance to satisfy design  High efficiency
requirements. Often a tuneable antenna design is preferable to  Quick RFID tag circuit excitation.
provide tolerance for tag fabrication variations and for  Reduction of responding time.
optimizing antenna performance on different materials in
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different frequency bands. (1)
RFID tag antenna design process is illustrated on a flow where
chart shown in Fig. 1. Once the RFID application is selected, = Transmitted Power.
system requirements can be translated into tag requirements. = Received power.
These requirements determine the materials for tag antenna = Transmission antenna aperture.
construction and ASIC packaging. The impedance of the = Receiving antenna aperture.
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selected ASIC in a chosen RF package (like flip-chip, etc.) to r = Distance between the antennas.
which antenna will be matched can be measured with a λ = Wave length of the radio wave.
network analyzer.
Antenna parametric study and optimization is performed Circular Microstrip rectangular patch antenna design:
until design requirements are met in simulation. Like most
antennas, RFID tag antennas tend to be too complicated for
(2)
analytical solution as they can be used in complex ( )
environment. Tag antennas are usually analyzed with
electromagnetic modelling and simulation tools, typically with
Ansoft HFSS software. (3)
√
For more complicated three-dimensional designs (e.g.
thick metal mounted tags). Fast EM analysis tools are crucial a = radius of the patch(0.931cm)
for efficient tag design. In a typical design process, modelling h = height of the substrate
and simulation tools can be benchmarked against =relative permittivity
measurements. Read range calculation can be implemented =centre frequency
directly in EM software. Tag antenna is first modelled,
simulated, and optimized on a computer by monitoring the tag

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 Dharmendra.Gutta*,et al. / (IJAEST) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ENGINEERING SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES
Vol No. 5, Issue No. 2, 139 - 143

Why do we use dipole antenna for transmission?

1. Partially Isotopic nature.
2. Low input impedance.
3. Maximum gain.
4. Good efficiency.
5. Low power application.
II. Dipole antenna design;
Wave length= 5.3571 cm .
Length of dipole antenna=wavelength/2 (half wave dipole)

III. READ RANGE

Let us demonstrate how Kurokawa’s method can be applied to

analyze the performance of a passive RFID tag. The fact that
passive RFID tags are powered solely by the incoming RF
energy, combined with cost and fabrication requirements,
imposes a unique set of criteria on RFID tag antenna design,
including frequency bandwidth, directivity, size and form,
sensitivity to different objects the tag is placed on, reliability, Fig.2(b). Dipole antenna in vacuum box

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and, finally, tag read range. Read range is an important
characteristic of the RFID tag. It is the maximum distance
from which the tag can be detected. One limitation on the
range is the maximum distance from which the tag receives
just enough power to turn on and scatter back. Another
limitation is the maximum distance from which the reader can
detect this scattered signal. The read range is the smaller of the
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two distances (typically, the first one since RFID reader
sensitivity is usually high). Theoretical read range
depends on the power reflection coefficient and can be
calculated using the Friis free-space formula as

| |
√ (4)

Where λ is the wavelength, is the power transmitted by the

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RFID reader, is the gain of the transmitting antenna
( is EIRP, equivalent isotropic radiated power), is the
gain of the receiving tag antenna, and is the minimum
threshold power necessary to power up the chip. Typically
and are slow varying, and is dominant in
frequency dependence and | | primarily determines the tag Fig.2(c). Dipole antenna 3D radiation pattern
resonance.
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IV.SIMULATION RESULTS

Fig.2(d). Dipole antenna 2D radiation pattern

Fig. 2(a). Dipole antenna

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 Dharmendra.Gutta*,et al. / (IJAEST) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ENGINEERING SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES
Vol No. 5, Issue No. 2, 139 - 143

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Fig.3(a). Circular microstrip patch antenna
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Fig.3(d). Circular microstrip patch antenna 2D radiation pattern

Fig.3(b). Circular microstrip patch antenna in vacuum box

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Dharmendra.Gutta*,et al. / (IJAEST) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ENGINEERING SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES
V.CONCLUSION
In this letter, a SHF passive RFID tag with
two antennas was proposed. A microstrip patch
antenna for receiving and dipole antenna for
transmission. The designed antenna would be
potentially useful electronic toll collection
application .Response time of RFID tag is reduced
by using circular microstrip patch antenna for
receiving and maximum coverage area is attained
by using dipole antenna for transmission.
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