Design and integration of inkjet-printed paper-based UHF components for RFID and ubiquitous sensing applications

Paper is one of the best substrate candidates for radio frequency identification (RFID) and ubiquitous sensing applications due to the fact that it is not only one of the lowest cost materials, but is environmentally friendly and can be easily used for mass reel-to-reel processing. In this paper, the UHF/RF electrical characterization of the paper substrate, using the microstrip ring resonator method, has been performed yielding an accurate low-value range for the dielectric constant (epsiv_r) and loss tangent (tandelta). A UHF RFID antenna is designed and inkjet printed on paper to demonstrate the applicability of this material. The presented approach could potentially set the foundation for very large ultra-low-cost ad-hoc networks for cognitive radio and sensing applications.