Wireless Corner

Nattali (Tuli) Herscovici

Christos Christodoulou
Lincoln Laboratory - Group 61
Department of Electrical and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
244 Wood Street Computer Engineering
Lexington, MA 02420-9108 USA University of New Mexico
Tel: +1 (781) 981-0801 Albuquerque, NM 87131-1356 USA
Fax: +1 (928)832-4025 Tel: +1 (505) 277 6580
Skype/AOL: tuli01 Fa~+1 (505)2771439
E-mail: nherscovici@lI.mit.edu E-mail: christos@ece.unm.edu

RFID Coverage Extension Using

Microstrip-Patch Antenna Array
Mehmet Abbak and ibrahim Tekin
Electronics Engineering, Sabanci University
34956 Istanbul, Turkey
Tel: ++90(216) 483 9534; Fax: ++90(216) 483 9550; E-mail: tekin@sabanciuniv.edu

Abstract
In this paper, a UHF-band 2 x 2 microstrip phased-array antenna is designed and implemented to extend the coverage of an
RFID reader system. The phased-array antenna has four microstrip-patch antennas, three Wilkinson power dividers, and a
transmission-line phase shifter. These are printed on a dielectric substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.5. The array has
dimensions of 34 cm x 45 cm, operating at a frequency of 867 MHz, as specified in RFID Gen2 protocol European standards.
The phased-array antenna has a measured directivity of 12.1 dB, and the main-beam direction can be steered to angles of
± 40°, with a HPBW of 90°. The phased-array antenna is used as the receiving antenna in a commercial reader system.
Experimental results indicate that the coverage of the RFID system with the phased-array antenna is superior to the coverage
with a conventional broader-beamwidth microstrip-patch antenna. The proposed system can also be used for a wireless
positioning system.

Keywords: RFID; identification; microstrip antennas; UHF antennas; array antennas

1. Introduction ments. This paper proposes a phased-array antenna system, with

the goal of extending the coverage range of an RFID system.

n FID systems are now deployed in our daily lives, and have
Rstarted to improve the quality of daily life by making things
easier and faster, across the board. However, due to the small size
of tags and, hence, the size of the antenna's aperture, long-range
operation and coverage is troublesome for RPID systems. In order
to extend the coverage area of an RPID system, one may inlple-
ment many readers and antennas with small reading ranges to cover
the monitoring area. Alternatively, one may use a high-gain
phased-array antenna system to obtain an extended reading range
of the RPID reader, for a smaller number of total reader deploy-
For passive RPID systems in the EPCglobal Classl Gen2
RPID standard working at UHF, the working range of the RPID
system is limited compared to that of active systems [1]. RPID sys-
tems for general-purpose applications use antennas with wide
beamwidths and, hence, small gains, to receive and transmit the
RPID signals. Consequently, to overcome the short range limita-
tions of RPID systems - both due to passive tags and wide beam-
widths - a novel phased-array antenna system with higher gain can
be used for beam fonning, to increase directivity and, hence, to
increase range.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 51, No.1, February 2009 185
 The operating range of an RFID system is based on tag
parameters, such as the tag antenna's gain and radar cross section, (1)
the distances between readers, the operating frequency, the
transmitted power from the reader to the tag, and the gain of the
reader's antenna. The number of receiving and transmitting ports is where (AI 41l'R)2 is called the free-space loss factor. Wavelength
another factor affecting the operation range of the system. A new and distance are variables in this factor, and cannot be changed for
approach to RFID systems is a multi-static system design, with its a certain application. The transmitted power, PT , is also maxi-
significantly better sensitivity to weak tag backscatter signals, and
mized to a certain point according to the regulations on UHF RFID
its superior RF coverage area. To demonstrate the advantage of this
systems. The other remaining factors are the gains of the antennas
approach - in which two antennas can both receive and transmit-
of the reader and the tag. With respect to the monostatic approach,
radiated power levels were plotted. For a certain signal level, the
two antennas are used on the reader side where they transmit and
bistatic approach offers larger coverage, as shown in Figure 1.
receive signals on separate antennas. When the reader has two
antennas for separate receiving and transmitting purposes, we can
conceptualize the unit as a radar system. This is because transmis-
Various approaches to increasing the range of UHF passive
sion from the tag to the reader in a UHF RFID system is that of
RFID systems have been discussed in the literature. Increasing the
sensitivity of the RFID reader, which can work with weaker signals simple scattering. From this view, the power received at the
received from the tag; reducing power consumption; and increasing receiver reader in Figure 2 can be written as in Equation (2), where
( j is the radar cross section, a measure of an object's ability to
power efficiency on the tag circuit are methods of increasing the
operating range [2]. Other improvement suggestions for the design reflect electromagnetic waves:
of the RFID tag's antenna and chip concurrently to decrease the
tum-on voltage of the tag's chip for increased reading-range opera-
(2)
tion were given in [3]. Furthermore, the theory of a diversity sys-
tem, which could decrease the required power level for the same
bit-error rate, and could therefore increase the operating range, was
A minimum received signal level is specified for the maximum
investigated in [4]. In addition, the operating range of a hand-held
possible operating range. In other words, there is a minimum PR
RFID reader for different types of patch antennas has been investi-
gated [5]. This showed that the gain of the antenna is a fundamen- for which the system can operate. For a fixed RR ,mm. to increase
tal factor ofRFID system range. However, the most applicable way
for increasing the reading range of a UHF RFID system is to
increase the gain of the reader's antenna, since there is a relaxed
size limitation, unlike that of the RFID tag.

For wireless-sensor network applications, the range-extension

capability can be used, and this will decrease the number of nodes
in the network. Alternatively, for the same communication dis-
tance, the proposed system will require less transmitted power,
since a higher-gain phased-array system is deployed. One further
advantage of using a phased-array antenna system is that the direc-
tional information is already available at the reader. This informa-
tion can be used to find the position of the tags: wireless position-
ing.

In this paper, the design of the microstrip-patch antenna array

- including all of the components, such as Wilkinson power divid-
ers, phase shifters, and antenna elements - will be specified. More-
over, phased-array simulations and measurements will be pre- Figure 1. Monostatic and bistatic reader coverage compared.
sented. The field measurements, which are taken using a commer-
cial RFID system, will be provided to show that the coverage of the
RFID system is actually extended.

2. Range Extension of the RFID System

Using a Phased-Array Antenna System

The reading range of a passive tag is limited by its ability to

provide sufficient voltage and power at the antenna to power the RFID Reader
tag's integrated circuit. In a basic sense, to extend the range of a
UHF passive RFID system, received power should be increased.
As the famous Friis transmission equation states in Equation (1),
received power is based on the transmitted power, the wavelength,
the distance, and the gains of the antennas on both the transmitting
and receiving sides: Figure 2. A bistatic RFID system.

186 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 51, No.1, February 2009
the range ofRFID operation (Rl and/or R2 ), either the receiving or O.4A-.
transmitting antenna gains, Gl or G2 can be increased. In our
approach, one of the antennas of the bistatic reader will be replaced
by the phased-array antenna, with a more directive beam with x
higher gain. Increased antenna gain will increase the radial range.
However, due to the narrower beamwidth, the angular coverage
IOJA
will be decreased. In our technique, the phased array can be steered
to two different directions so that the angular coverage is not Power
affected. Instead, it will be extended. Divider

One might argue that effective radiated power (ERP) will be

increased by using a high-gain antenna. However, if the average
power is calculated, it will be the same as for the fixed-beam less-
directive antenna, because the beam will be steered back and forth
between these two states and will decrease the average power. In
normal operation, the beam will be shifting between the two states
for a predetermined amount of time.
Figure 4. A diagram of the antenna array.
The operating range of passive UHF RFID systems can also
be affected by interference. The most common types of interfer-
ence would be caused to the tag and to the reader by multiple read- Patch Antenna Return Loss S11
ers in dense reader environments, such as warehouses and o
manufacturing facilities. Signals transmitted from distant readers --~,
;~-~,
, /
~-~~,;
~---~
can be strong enough to obstruct the accurate decoding of the sig-
nals back-scattered from tags. How the interference affects the -5
", ,/ 1--- S11dB I
operating range of passive UHF RFID systems through the SIR \ I

, ,
\ I
(signal-to-interference ratio) was explained in [10]. Another useful , I
aspect of a directional antenna system can thus be the reduction of -10 , I
the SIR in multi-reader environments. This is because the gain of OJ
"0 I I
the readers' antennas will be much more less at the undesired 1 I
, I
angles, compared to conventional antennas that need to cover the I I
-15 I I
same area. I I
II
I'

•
(I
-20
3. Implementation and Results
750 800 850 900 950 1000
A schematic view of the proposed antenna array is shown in freq (MHz)
Figure 4. The phased array consists of four (2 x 2) patch antenna
Figure 5. The return loss of a patch antenna.
elements, Wilkinson power dividers, and phase shifters enabled by
SPDT switches. By using transmission-line-based phase shifters,
the main beam of the array can be steered to two main directions,
shown in Figure 3 as State 1 and State 2. The main purpose of ...z
steering the main beam of the array is to extend the coverage while Hp~ne
increasing the gain of the antenna. A typical radiation pattern of a .~
40 ._
...._.. _. co polar
microstrip-patch antenna is shown in Figure 3 as radiating into the ..3dB beamwidth: '" cross polar
70,68

State 1
State 2
Zaxls

Radiation
pattem of
single patch 240
antenna 270
X axis
Figure 6. The measured co- and cross-polarization (H-plane)
Figure 3. Extending the coverage area. radiation patterns.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 51, No.1, February 2009 187
 Figure 10. The power divider.

Figure 7. The measured co- and cross-polarization (E-plane)

radiation patterns. Wilkinson Power Divider
Or--..,.--....,....----..,.-----,.--.,.......-~---"T'"""---r-----.---.

-5

-10

-15

~ -20

-25

-30

-35

-40 I- 600
500 700 800 900 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,300 1,400 1,500
freq (MHz)

Figure 11. The S parameters for the power divider.

Figure 8. The phase shifter.

Phase Shifter Measurement

ol'W"iiii"'ll.......... , ........i"iiiiiiiiiii"liil-iiiiii.. . . . .
iiiii";;;.-. . . . . . . ._ii_iiiiiiir.;;_ii_iii'iiili_ii"'iiiii_j";;I
... . ...

-10
- - - - Insertion Loss S12dB

-20 - Return Loss S11 dB

-30

-40

-50

-60

-70

-80

-90 L.-_....L.--_~_---'--_---L._----I _ _.L...-_.....L--_--'--_--'-_--J

500 600 700 800 900 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,300 1,400 1,500
freq (MHz)

Figure 9. The S parameters for the phase shifter. Figure 12. The array antenna.

188 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 51, No.1, February 2009
half space. Also shown in the figure is a more-directive beam of a
phased-array antenna with two different pointing directions. Hp'ane (State 1)

The antenna feeding network was designed to steer the beam

ro
in two directions in the H plane (±400). This design necessitated a
phase difference of 120° between the antenna sets (1, 2) and (3, 4)
for 0.4l spacing between the antennas, as shown in Figure 4.
There was no phase shift between antennas 1 and 2, and between
antennas 3 and 4. The spacing in the x direction was set to 0.3l,
and the spacing in the y direction was set to 0.4l, to obtain opti-
mum gain and mutual coupling. For extended simulations, the
ADS Momentum 2.5D electromagnetics software was used.

Each component in the antenna-array system - microstrip

patch antenna, phase shifter, and Wilkinson power divider - was
first designed using ADS Momentum, and then implemented. It
was finally measured using an Agilent 8270ES S-Parameter Net-
work Analyzer. For the design of the microstrip-patch antenna,
various geometrical parameters and material parameters had to be
determined. The initial values were resolved with the use of the
equations for a microstrip-patch antenna from Balanis [6]. The
270
PCB (printed-circuit-board) etching technique for the microstrip-
patch antenna was fabricated with a substrate material having a H plane (Stale 2)
relative electric permittivity of 4.55 (Gy ) and a thickness of ~
1.52 nun.

The measured input return loss of the patch antenna is given

in Figure 5. The 10 dB return-loss bandwidth was about 15 MHz,
and the antenna radiated at 867 MHz with a return loss of 22 dB.
The radiation pattern of the patch antenna was measured in a com-
pact test range. The broadside direction pattern had better than a
15 dB cross polarization in the E and H planes. The 3 dB band-
width was 70° in the H plane, and 80° in the E plane, with a 1m
directivity of 7.5 dB, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

For implementation of the phase shifter, the delay arm had to

provide an additional 120° phase difference with respect to the
reference ann, because the 240° phase difference necessary
between the left and right arm required ±120° phase differences.
The phase shifter as implemented FR4 ubstrate is shown in
Figure 8. The measurement resul are given 'n Figure 9. An inser-
tion loss of 1.1 dB and a return loss of 50 dB were measured for a
120° phase difference (Figure 9). A MAlCOM high-power SPDT
switch chip was used to switch between the two branches of the Figure 14. The measured co- and cross-polarizations (H-plane)
for two states of the phased-array antenna.
Return Loss (S11)
0
transmission line. As the last block of the array system, the
-5
""'-
"'-" ""' .......
"\ \
Wilkinson power-divider circuit was realized and measured, as
shown in Figures 10 and 11. According to the measurement results,
-10 \ the power was delivered equally with an insertion loss of 0.1 dB
I
(812 ~ 813 ~ -3.1 dB), alongside an isolation of 40 dB at 867 MHz.
-15 (Figure 11). Finally, the total array feeding network, composed of
[IJ
power dividers, phase shifter, and patch-antenna elements, was
appropriately designed, minimizing line losses and mutual cou-
"U

-20
pling while maximizing array gain and efficiency [7, 9].

-25 The final layout of the RFID array antenna is shown in Fig-
ure 12, where NH9450 substrate (Gy = 4.5, tan l5 = 0.002 at 2 GHz
-30 with 1.52 nun thickness) was used. Figure 13 depicts the overall
response of the phased-array antenna for two different positions of
-3~0 the switches. A return loss of 30 dB was obtained at the resonance
820 840 860 880 900 920 940 960 980 1000
freq (MHz) frequency of 867 MHz for two different main-beam positions. A
bandwidth covering the regulated frequencies (865.6 MHz to
Figure 13. 811 for the array antenna. 867.6 MHz) of the EPC Gen2 standard was obtained. The meas-

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 51, No.1, February 2009 189
ured radiation patterns of the array for two different states of the
switches are shown in Figures 14 and 15. The 3 dB beamwidth of
the H plane for State 1 was 46°, and for State 2 the beamwidth was
c:: t
0 '-0--0 a 6-

~
StIle 1 f
0

6
48°. For the E plane, when the upper switches of phase shifter were
"toh Antenna 0 0 0 0 0 0
open, the half-power beamwidth was 69.3° (State 2), and otherwise btt<2 0 0 <&> <P ~ ® ®
the beamwidth was 73.6° (State 1). In accordance with the simula-
tion results, a directivity of 12.1 dB and a 20 dB difference of the E
~
35
I 0 ~ <8l <tt @ ~ <&>
(0
co- and cross-polar levels at boresight was obtained at 867 MHz, x .<i). ~ ~ ~. ~ ~
from the measurements. The measured results showed that antenna
could be steered ±40°.
'rl
ne:
20 ~
x (tJ
~
•
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4l
.&.
•
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RX

1$ A £ &. 4ta. ~ ~ £

4. Experimental Results 10 6 ~, £ ~ ~ ~ ~

5 L::::. 6 ~ L::::.. L:::- A ~

A test bench for assessing the performance of a phased-array 5 to 15 ~ 25 3:) 35 45 sa

antenna in an actual RFID system, to confirm the radiation-pattern x10 em
measurements completed in the compact range, was established.
For testing purposes, an Alien bistatic ALR-8800 model reader and ,
passive UHF ALN-9554 tags were used [11]. The array antenna A IfIt,t
was employed in the receiver port and a standard patch was used )( ,-..It Aattft... 0 0 0
for transmission. For different positions of the receiver antennas, I
0 Sfatt2 0 0 ~ ~
and for the standard patch antenna and the antenna array in two
different states, the measurement results affirmed the extended e 35
u
0 <i) ~ <3> X L::. A ~ 6

..
coverage and gain of the antenna array as compared to the coverage 0
'X ~ (i) @ .(j) <3> ~ A ~ ~ A
and gain of the patch antenna (Figure 16). Due to the limited area
for measurements, the transmitted power level decreased by 6 dB
from the maximum power level obtainable (2 W), in order to mini-
TX
i, 25
lU
~
(g>
<&>
<K>
<i>
¢\.
<&>
<i>
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4\.

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~

mize the coverage.

15 @ <Xl ~ <X) ~ ~ ~ &. ~

to 0 <X> ~ <8> Ci 4. 4:.. £ 6

5 0 @ <8> ~ &. .~ ~ .c::. J

I
5. Conclusion j
5 10 45 50

A 2 x 2 UHF RFID antenna-array system, which consisted of

a phase shifter, power dividers, and microstrip-patch antenna ele-
ment, operating at a frequency of 867 MHz, was designed, imple- Figure 16. Readable location information of UHF passive tags.

mented, and measured. The main beam of the antenna array could
E plane be switched between two directions designed to be 80° apart. The
measured input impedance was well matched with two different
00
beam-pointing directions with return losses of 30 dB. The radiation
pattern of the antenna was measured and plotted in a compact
range. To corroborate the results, the performance of the antenna
array was tested in an actual UHF RFID system.

6. Acknowledgment
100
This work was supported by the Turkish Scientific and
Technology Research Institution TUBITAK. Grant 104E123. The
authors also wish to acknowledge Dr. Nazli Candan and Dr.
Bahattin Turetken for their help in antenna-gain measurements,
performed in the TUBITAK. UEKAE Labs.

210 7. References

Figure 15. The measured co- and cross-polarizations (E-plane) 1. K. Finkenzeller, RFID Handbook, 2nd Edition, New York, John
of the phased-array antenna. Wiley & Sons, 2003.

190 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 51, No.1, February 2009
2. G. De Vita and G. Iannaccone, "Design Criteria for the RF Sec-
tion of UHF and Microwave Passive RFID Transponders," IEEE
Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 53, 9,
September 2005, pp. 2978-2990.
3. Jong-Wook Lee, Hongil Kwon, and Bomson Lee, "Design
Consideration of UHF RFID Tag for Increased Reading Range,"
IEEE MTT-S International Symposium Digest, June 2006, pp.
1588-1591.
4. Joshua D. Griffin and Gregory D. Durgin, "Gains for RF Tags
Using Multiple Antennas," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and
Propagation, AP-56, 2, February 2008, pp. 563-570.
5. Leena Ukkonen, Lauri Sydanheimo, and Markku Kivikoski,
"Read Range Performance Comparison of Compact Reader Anten-
nas for a Handheld UHF RFID Reader," IEEE International
Conference on RFID 2007, March 26-28, 2007, pp. 63-70.
6. Constantine Balanis, Antenna Theory, New York, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
7. E. Levine, G. Malamud, S. Shtrikman, and D. Treves, "A Study
of Microstrip Array Antennas with the Feed Network," IEEE
Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, AP-37, 4, April 1989,
pp. 426-434.
8. P. S. Hall and C. M. Hall, "Co-Planar Corporate Feed Effects in
Microstrip Patch Array Design," Inst. Elect. Eng. Proc., 135H,
June 1988, pp. 180-186.
9. P. Daniel, G. Dubost, C. Tenet, J. Citeme, and M. Drissi,
"Research on Planar Antennas and Arrays: 'Structure Rayon-
nantes'," IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 35, 1,
February 1993, pp. 14-38.
10. D. Y. Kim, B. J. Jang, H. G. Yoon, J. S. Park, and 1. G. Yook,
"Effects of Reader Interference on the RPID Interrogation Range,"
Proceedings of the 37th European Microwave Conference
(EuMC'07), Munich, October 2007, pp. 728-731.
11. RFID system: http://www.alientechnology.com.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation MagaZine, Vol. 51, No.1, February 2009
Introducing the Authors
Mehmet Abbak Ibrahim Tekin
Mehmet Abbak received his BSc degree from the
Telecommunications Engineering Department of Sabanci Univer-
sity in 2006. He is currently continuing his MSc degree at the Elec-
tronics Engineering Program of Faculty of Engineering and Natural
Sciences of Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey. His research
interests are printed microstrip antennas and arrays, and radio-
frequency circuit design.
Ibrahim Tekin received his BS and MS degrees from
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of Middle East
Technical University (METU) in 1990 and 1992, respectively.
From 1993 to 1997, he was with the Electrical Engineering Depart-
ment of the Ohio State University (OSU), where he received his
PhD degree in 1997. During 1990-1993, he was a research assistant
at METU, and from 1993 to 1997 he worked as a Graduate
Research Associate at the ElectroScience Laboratory, OSU. From
1997 to 2000, he worked as a researcher in the Wireless Technol-
ogy Lab of Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies. He is now with
the telecommunications program at SabancI University, Istanbul.
His research interests are RF and microwave design, UWB anten-
nas and circuits, and numerical methods in electromagnetics. He is
a member of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation and Communica-
tions Societies. C1!)
191