Inkjet-Printed Flexible mm-Wave Van-Atta Reflectarrays: A Solution for Ultralong-Range Dense Multitag and Multisensing Chipless RFID Implementations for IoT Smart Skins

Abstract

In this effort, the authors implement the first ultralong-range chipless sensing sticker, by providing more than an order of magnitude increase in reading range, compared with the state of the art. The theoretical advantages of the use of millimeter-wave frequencies for high-performance chipless radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor implementations are first argued before both a new fully inkjet-printed flexible device, based on the Van-Atta reflectarray structure, as well as a new chipless RFID polarimetric interrogation, and time-frequency data-processing approach is then presented and implemented, for operation in the Ka-band. The array, fully inkjet printed on Kapton HN polyimide, was demonstrated as being robust to variations of interrogation angle (between ±70° from normal), as well as to bending. With its demonstrated range, in excess of 30 m, and its proven adequacy for dense multitag and multisensing implementations in indoor environments, the structure may set the foundation for the emergence of flexible printable low-cost sensing smart skins for the Internet of Things.