A Slot Loaded Circularly Polarized Patch Antenna for UHF RFID Reader

The design of a simple UHF (ultrahigh frequency) RFID (radio frequency identification) reader antenna that operates within the 900 MHz band (902-928 MHz) is studied. To generate circular polarization (CP) radiation, a novel method of loading a semicircular slot into the main circular radiating patch is proposed. To allow optimum impedance matching with enhanced CP bandwidth, the L-shaped probe-feed technique is employed in this design. From the experimental results, besides achieving a gain level of more than 7 dBic, the proposed antenna can also yield an impedance bandwidth (10-dB return loss) from 880 to 1100 MHz, while good CP performances between 901 to 930 MHz are exhibited. To further validate the experimental results, parametric studies are also carried out via simulation.