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A large compact, 2-D expandable RFID reader antenna for near-field applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2025

Yaohui Niu ,
Xiuping Li ,
Wenyu Zhao  and
Zihang Qi Open the ORCID record for Zihang Qi [Opens in a new window]
Yaohui Niu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, the Key Laboratory of Universal Wireless Communications of Ministry of Education, the Beijing Key Laboratory of Work Safety Intelligent Monitoring, and the School of Electronic Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
Xiuping Li*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, the Key Laboratory of Universal Wireless Communications of Ministry of Education, the Beijing Key Laboratory of Work Safety Intelligent Monitoring, and the School of Electronic Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
Wenyu Zhao
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, the Key Laboratory of Universal Wireless Communications of Ministry of Education, the Beijing Key Laboratory of Work Safety Intelligent Monitoring, and the School of Electronic Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
Zihang Qi
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, the Key Laboratory of Universal Wireless Communications of Ministry of Education, the Beijing Key Laboratory of Work Safety Intelligent Monitoring, and the School of Electronic Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
*
Corresponding author: Xiuping Li; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

In this paper, a large, compact array antenna that can be expanded in the 2-D plane is proposed for near-field radio frequency identification applications. By the introduction of the fractal structure and corner joint method, the array is easy to expand in the 2-D plane. An antenna element can be divided into a dozen or so loops, and traveling wave distribution makes sure that every loop is excited in a time period. So that a strong and uniform magnetic field could be generated in a large area. As a proof of concept, array antennas with $1 \times 8$, $2 \times 4$, and $3 \times 3$ elements are designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured bandwidth of the antennas covers the entire Chinese standard. Reading distances of the proposed large array antennas achieved up to 57 mm. Results show that the proposed antenna could realize flexibility and extendibility in a large area with stable and uniform magnetic field distribution.

Keywords

array antennaexpandablefractal structureslarge areanear fieldultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID)
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , First View , pp. 1 - 12
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with The European Microwave Association

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