Miniaturized Design of A CP Antenna For UHF RFID Reader

IPASJ International Journal of Electronics & Communication (IIJEC)
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ISSN 2321-5984
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Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2015
Miniaturized Design of a CP Antenna for UHF

RFID Reader
Yanzhong Yu1, Yanfei Li2 and Jingxuan Nie3
1
College of Physics & Information Engineering, Quanzhou Normal University, Fujian, 362000, China
Key Laboratory of Information Functional Materials for Fujian Higher Education, Fujian, 362000, China
ABSTRACT
Miniaturization is the development trend of RFID reader antenna. A miniaturized design of a CP antenna for UHF RFID
reader is given in the present paper. In order to compact antenna, four T-shape slots that can lengthen the path of surface
current so as to drop the operating frequency, are etched on the square radiating patch. To realize CP property, the patch is
truncated by a square of 6.5 mm 6.5 mm at two diagonal corners. The optimized results show that the antenna exhibits an
impedance bandwidth (S11<=-10 dB) of 906.3 ~ 940.6 MHz (3.7%), axial ratio bandwidth (AR<=3 dB) of 917.2 ~ 925.2 MHz
covering the UHF band of 920 ~ 925 MHz, minimum return loss of -37.7 dB, maximum gain of 1.4 dB, and input impedance
of (50.6+j4.2) . The proposed antenna is therefore suitable for UHF RFID applications at the band of 920925 MHz in China.
Lastly, parametric analyses are carried out to speed the processes of designing and optimizing.
Keywords:- Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Ultra-High Frequency (UHF), Reader Antenna, Circularly
Polarized (CP), T-shape Slot.
1. INTRODUCTION
Recently, the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band radio frequency identification (RFID) system has become the most
popular in whole RFID domain, due to long reading distance, fast reading speed and large information storage
capability [1]. The RFID system involves tag and reader, in which reader/tag antennas play an import role in
exchanging their data. Much attention has been devoted to design a reader antenna for UHF-RFID system, because of
more and more practical applications in industrial services, such as distribution logistics, goods flow, and
manufacturing companies, and so on [2-5]. The leading development trend of RFID reader is miniaturization and
portability. Moreover, the size of a reader is mainly depended on its antenna. At present, miniaturized reader antenna
therefore becomes a research trend in RFID system. Usually there are many ways to realize miniaturization, such as
etching slot on radiation patch [6, 7], shorting circuit between patch and ground plane [8, 9], and increasing relative
dielectric constant of substrate [10, 11]. Besides miniaturization, a CP operation that improves the reliability of
communications between readers and tags should be considered in design RFID reader antenna, since the tags attached
to the objects to be identified are always arbitrarily oriented in applications and their antennas are normally linearly
polarized. On the basic of polarized principle, CP antenna can be achieved by exciting two orthogonal linearly
polarized modes with equal amplitude and a 90 phase offset [1-3]. Many designs have been proposed to implement the
CP antenna, like truncating corner [2], dual/hybrid feeding [12], etching slot [13], and so on. In the present paper, to
miniaturize the designed antenna, four T-shape slots are etched on the square radiating patch, as they can extend the
road of surface current of radiating patch so as to reduce the resonating frequency. Furthermore, to reach the aim of CP
operation, a corner-truncated technology is adopted. The radiation patch is truncated by a square at two diagonal
corners. The proposed antenna is analyzed and optimized by HFSS 13 for saving design cost, improving efficiency, and
increasing competitiveness. The optimized antenna exhibits the performances: an impedance bandwidth (S11<=-10 dB)
of 34 MHz (3.7%), axial ratio bandwidth (AR<=3 dB) of 8 MHz, minimum return loss of -37.7 dB at 927.5 MHz,
maximum gain of 1.4 dB, and input impedance of (50.6+j4.2) . Simulation results demonstrate that the optimized
antenna has satisfied performances and is suitable for UHF RFID reader applications. Section II describes the
configuration of the proposed antenna. The simulated results and parametric studies are presented in detail in section
III and IV respectively. A brief conclusion is drawn in the last Section V.
2. ANTENNA CONFIGURATION
The corner-truncated method to realize CP operation is simpler than other measures mentioned above. Therefore, this
method is adopted by lots of papers. In article [14], the radiation patch is truncated by two isosceles triangles, as shown
in Figure 1. Air is used as the substrate. The volume of this antenna is 200 mm 200 mm 2.7 mm. On the basic of
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ISSN 2321-5984
ref.14, this configuration is improved by the paper [15]. Besides triangle truncations, the main patch is slotted by a
square at the center for miniaturizing antenna, as depicted in Figure 2. The FR4_epoxy, instead of air, is selected as
substitute. Its size is 90 mm 90 mm 3 mm and its gain reaches -1dB. The development of this structure presented in
[15] is conducted by author Gao [16]. As illustrated in Figure 3, the radiating patch and ground plane are truncated and
slotted by different shapes. This antenna has a volume of 80 mm 80 mm 3 mm and a gain of -0.89 dB. Obviously
these antennas have disadvantages of bulky volume and especially low gain. In this article, we present a miniaturized
design of a CP antenna for UHF RFID reader. As given in Figure 4, top patch of W1 L1 is truncated by a square of
W2 L2 at two diagonal corners to obtain CP operation. Moreover, four T-shape slots with length V, W and width A,
A1 are respectively etched on the top patch for the purpose of miniaturization. The FR4 with relative dielectric constant
of r 4.4 , loss tangent of tan 0.02 , is selected as substrate of W L h and is placed at the middle layer. This
antenna is back fed by the coaxial cable (50 ), and impedance match between them can be achieved by tuning the
parameter F which is the distance between feed point and model origin. It can be seen that the designed antenna has
advantages of simplicity, high gain and easy fabrication when compared with other reader antennas mentioned above.
The optimal dimensions of the proposed antenna are obtained by optimizing repeatedly, as listed in Table. 1. The
numerical results are presented in Section III.
Figure 1 Schematic diagram of antenna presented in ref.[14].Figure 2 Schematic diagram of antenna presented in
ref.[15]
(a) Top patch

(b) Ground plane
Figure 3 Schematic diagram of antenna presented in ref.[16]
Figure 4 Configuration of the proposed antenna
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Table 1: Optimal dimensions of the proposed antenna

Parameters
Values
(mm)
Parameters
Values
(mm)
W1
L1
W2
4.5
105
105
65
65
5.6
L2
A1
5.6
15
8.5
10
1.5
1.5
3. SIMULATED RESULTS
The proposed antenna can be calculated by HFSS (high frequency structural simulator), which is an interactive
simulation system and a high performance full wave electromagnetic (EM) field simulator for arbitrary 3D volumetric
passive device modeling. The simulation model for the proposed antenna in HFSS is illustrated in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Simulation model for the proposed antenna in HFSS

The optimal results for the proposed antenna are given in Figure 6. It may be observed clearly from Figure 6 (a) that
the proposed antenna shows a bandwidth (S11<=-10 dB) of 906.3 ~ 940.6 MHz (3.7%) with central frequency of 925
MHz. It entirely covers the UHF band of 920 ~ 925 MHz assigned by China. Figure 6 (b) depicts the input impedance
against frequency. We can see that the input impedance at operating frequency of 925 MHz is Zreader=(50.6+j4.2) ,
which approaches to the impedance value of feed line with 50 . This means that an excellent impedance matching is
achieved between the antenna and feed line. The 2D radiation patterns for left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) and
right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) gains at 925 MHz is illustrated in Figure 6 (c). The RHCP gain is 15 dB larger
than LHCP gain at x-z plane. So the designed antenna is operated at a RHCP state. This can also be further confirmed
from Figure 6 (d), in which the RHCP gain is very close to the total gain and they are much larger than the LHCP gain
over the range of - 100 ~ + 100 . The peak gain of 1.53dB at 925 MHz can be obtained from Figure 6 (d), which is
2.42 dB larger than that presented in ref. [16]. The AR versus frequency at the direction of =0 , 0 is shown in
Figure 6 (e). The AR bandwidth (AR<=3 dB) of 917.2 ~ 925.2 MHz, covering the aim band of 920 ~ 925 MHz, can be
seen clearly. The minimum AR reaches 1.19 dB at 921.2 MHz. In brief, the performances of the proposed antenna
satisfy entirely the requirements of UHF RFID reader applications.
S11
ANSOFT
0.00
m2
m3
-10.00
d B (S ( 1 ,1 ) )
Curve Info
dB(S(1,1))
-20.00
Name
-30.00
m1 0.9273 -37.6624
m2 0.9063 -10.0256
m3 0.9406 -10.0098
m1
-40.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(a) Return loss S11 versus frequency
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im_re
ANSOFT
m1
55.00
Name
m1
m2
Z(Ohm)
35.00
0.9250 50.5537
0.9250 4.2274
Curve Info
im(Z(1,1))
re(Z(1,1))
15.00
m2
-5.00
-25.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(b) Input impedance versus frequency

Radiation Pattern GainLHCP_GainRHCP
0
m1
-30
0.00
Freq='0.925GHz' Phi='0deg'
Freq='0.925GHz' Phi='0deg'
m2
-10.00
-60
ANSOFT
Curve Info
30
60
Name
-20.00
m1
m2
-30.00
-90
Theta
Ang
Mag
0.0000 0.0000 1.3867

0.0000 0.0000 -14.3038
90
-120
120
-150
150
-180
(c) 2D radiation patterns for LHCP and RHCP gains

GainTotal
ANSOFT
m1
0.00
Name
m1
m2
-10.00
0.0000 1.3867
0.0000 -14.3038
dB(Gain)
m2
-20.00
Curve Info
dB(GainTotal)
dB(GainLHCP)
dB(GainRHCP)
-30.00
-40.00
-200.00
-100.00
0.00
Theta [deg]
100.00
200.00
(d) Comparison of LHCP, RHCP and total gains at x-z plane

AxialRatioValue
30.00
ANSOFT
Curve Info
Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'
dB(AxialRatioValue)
25.00
Name
m1
m2
m3
20.00
15.00
0.9212 1.1869
0.9172 3.0000
0.9252 3.0000
10.00
5.00
0.00
0.85
m2 m3
m1
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(e) AR versus frequency

Figure 6. Optimal results of the proposed antenna
4. PARAMETRIC STUDIES
In order to master more detailed information about the antenna design and optimization, the parametric study should be
carried out by using the parameter sweeping function provided by HFSS. For the purpose of better comprehending the
effect of the parameters on the performances of the proposed antenna, only one parameter at a time is changed, while
others remain unchanged. The parameters, involving the length V, W and width A, A1 of T-shape slot, and the
thickness h of substrate, will be investigated.
4.1
Effect of length V of T-shape slot
The influence of length V on return loss and AR of the proposed antenna is illustrated in Figure 7. It is found that the
length V of T-shape slot shows a significant effect on the resonating frequency and AR of the antenna. Both the
frequency corresponding to the minimum AR and resonating frequency decrease with the increasing of length V from 8
mm to 9 mm. However, the impedance and AR bandwidths are scarcely affected by length V. Therefore, extending the
length V can drops the resonance frequency so that the size of the proposed antenna is compacted.
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ISSN 2321-5984

V_S11
0.00
ANSOFT
dB(S(1,1))
-10.00
Curve Inf o
V='8mm'
V='8.5mm'
V='9mm'
-20.00
-30.00
-40.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(a) Return loss

V_AxialRatioValue
ANSOFT
Curve Info
Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg' V='8mm'

Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg' V='8.5mm'
Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg' V='9mm'
dB(AxialRatioValue)
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(b) AR
Figure 7. Effect of length V of T-shape slot on antenna performances. (a) Return loss, (b) AR.
4.2 Influence of length W of T-shape slot
Similarly, the return loss and AR are greatly influenced by the length W of T-shape slot, as depicted in Figure 8. The
curve changing trends given in Figure 8 are similar to these shown in Figure 7. The rising length W from 9 mm to 11
mm leads to entire left-ward shifts in both S11 curves and AR curves, although the impedance and AR bandwidths are
hardly influenced. The path of surface current on the patch is extended by the T-shape slot. As a result the operating
frequency drops and thus the antenna sizes reduce. It can be known from Figs. 7 and 8 that not only parameter V but
also parameter W has a great effect on the operating frequency.
W__S11
0.00
ANSOFT
dB(S(1,1))
-10.00
Curve Info
W='9mm'
W='10mm'
W='11mm'
-20.00
-30.00
-40.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(a) Return loss

W_AxialRatioValue
30.00
25.00
dB(AxialRatioValue)
ANSOFT
Curve Inf o
Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg' W='9mm'

20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(b) AR
Figure 8. Influence of length W on antenna performances. (a) Return loss, (b) AR.
4.3 Effect of width A of T-shape slot
The study of width A of T-shape slot on return loss and AR is given in Figure 9. Obviously, one can find that the width
A of T-shape slot has a slight effect on resonating frequency, impedance bandwidth, and AR bandwidth. However, it
can be observed carefully that the antenna with width A=1.5 mm has a better performance when compared with width
A=1.0 mm and 1.8 mm. Accordingly the width of A=1.5 mm is selected as the ideal size for the proposed antenna.
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A_S11
0.00
ANSOFT
Curve Info
-10.00
dB(S(1,1))
A='1mm'
A='1.5mm'
A='1.8mm'
-20.00
-30.00
-40.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(a) Return loss

A_AR
30.00
A='1mm' Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'

A='1.5mm' Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'
A='1.8mm' Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'
25.00
dB(AxialRatioValue)
ANSOFT
Curve Info
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(b) AR
Figure 9. Effect of width A on antenna performances. (a) Return loss, (b) AR.
4.4 Influence of width A1 of T-shape slot
Unlike the width A, the width A1 has a greater effect on antenna performances, as illustrated in Figure 10. We can see
from Figure 10 (a) that the resonating frequency decreases gradually, but impedance bandwidth and minimum S11 is
hardly affected, as the width A1 extends from 1.0 mm to 1.8 mm. The AR curve exhibits an entire left shift as a result
the minimum AR is almost unchanged but the frequency corresponding to the minimum AR falls, as given in Figure 10
(b). When comparing Figure 9 with Figure 10, one can draw a conclusion that the antenna performance is more
sensitive to parameter A1 than A. This is because that the surface current of radiation patch is distributed mostly on its
centre and scarcely on its edge, as displayed in Figure 11.
A1_S11
0.00
ANSOFT
dB(S(1,1))
-10.00
Curve Info
A1='1mm'
A1='1.5mm'
A1='1.8mm'
-20.00
-30.00
-40.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
(a) Return loss

A1_AxialRatioValue
37.50
1.00
ANSOFT
Curve Inf o
dB(AxialRatioValue)
A1='1mm' Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'

A1='1.5mm' Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'
A1='2mm' Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'
25.00
12.50
0.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(b) AR
Figure 10. Influence of width A1 on antenna performances. (a) Return loss, (b) AR.
Figure 11. Surface current of radiation patch at phase = 0 deg.
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ISSN 2321-5984
4.5 Effect of thickness h of substrate

Lastly, the influence of substrate thickness h on antenna performances is examined. It is found from Figure 12 (a) that
the return loss is greatly affected by substrate thickness h. The increasing of h improves the impedance bandwidth and
achieves a better impedance matching, but sharply expands the volume of the proposed antenna. So we consider the
thickness of h = 4.5 mm is an ideal selection in our design. One can also found that the AR bandwidth is barely
influenced by parameters h, although the frequency corresponding to the minimum AR rises slowly as the increasing of
thickness h, as illustrated in Figure 12 (b).
h_S11
0.00
ANSOFT
-10.00
dB(S(1,1))
Curve Inf o
h='2.5mm'
h='3.5mm'
h='4.5mm'
-20.00
-30.00
-40.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(a) Return loss

h_AR
30.00
ANSOFT
Curve Info
h='2.5mm' Phi='0deg' Theta='0deg'

dB(AxialRatioValue)
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0.85
0.88
0.90
0.93
Freq [GHz]
0.95
0.97
1.00
(b) AR
Figure 12. Effect of width h on antenna performances. (a) Return loss, (b) AR.
5. CONCLUSIONS
In the present paper, a miniaturized antenna with CP operation has been designed successfully for UHF RFID
applications. For the aim of miniaturization and circular polarization, two approaches are adopted in our design. Firstly
four T-shape slots are etched on the radiating patch for extending the surface current path and reducing the resonating
frequency. The length V, W and width A1 of T-shape slot have a great effect on the antenna performances, while this
antenna is less sensitive to width A when compared with parameter A1. Secondly, the CP operation is achieved by
using the corner-truncated method. The proposed antenna exhibits the advantages of simple structure, easy fabrication
and small dimension. Simulated results demonstrate the performances of the optimized antenna completely satisfy the
application requirements of UHF RFID reader.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Key Project of Science and Technology Department of Fujian Province (No.
2012H0035), the National Project of Innovative Entrepreneurship of Undergraduate (201310399002), and the Key
Discipline of Electronic Science and Technology.
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[6] K. V. Seshagiri Rao, P. V. Nikitin, and S. F. Lam, Antenna design for UHF RFID tags: a review and a practical
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AUTHOR
Yanzhong Yu was born in Fujian, China, in 1972. He received the B. S. degree from Fujian Normal University, Fujian,
China, in 1996; the M. E. degree from East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, in 2005; the PH. D. degree
from State Key Lab of Millimeter Waves, Southeast University, Nanjing, China, in 2009. His current research activities
are concerned with the design and analysis of antennas, including RFID antenna, GPS antenna, smart antenna, and so
on.
Yanfei Li was born in China in 1991, and received the B. S. degree in Electronics Information Science and
Technology, from College of Physics & Information Engineering, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou, China, in
2014. Her research interest is the design of RFID antennas.
Jingxuan Nie was born in China in 1991, and received the B. S. degree in Electronics Information Science and
Technology, from College of Physics & Information Engineering, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou, China, in
2014. His research interest is the design and analysis of GPS antenna.
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IPASJ International Journal of Electronics & Communication (IIJEC)

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Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2015