Data dense chipless RFID tag with efficient band utilization

[Display omitted] •A miniaturized compact chipless RFID tag of 39 × 40 mm2 with 22-bit data density is proposed in this work.•The ‘U’ and ‘inverted U’ slots are closely placed in special arrangement to avoid mutual coupling between the resonance response.•The 22-bit tag is capable to tag 222 = 4,194,304 objects.•The 22-bit data dense tag produces the overall RCS response in 1.7 GHz band.•The realized tag is low-cost, and readily available. One of the critical challenges in deploying radio frequency identification (RFID) is its cost of production. An approach to mitigate and be cost-effective is to design chipless, inexpensive electronic tags having a smaller size. Therefore, in this paper, a novel 22-bit passive chipless RFID tag with an enhanced radar cross-section (RCS) response is proposed. The tag design is loaded with ‘U’ and ‘Inverted-U’ shaped slots. The ‘U’ and ‘Inverted-U’ slots are etched on a metallic plate of size 39x40 mm2 for 22-bit data capacity and the tag can label 222 = 4,194,304 objects. The final tag design is optimized for Taconic TLX-0 and RT/duroid®5880 substrates. Each 'U' and 'Inverted-U' shaped loaded slot are of different lengths and thus yield resonance at a particular frequency. The presence of a dip corresponds to the '1′ bit and the '0′ bit is achieved in the data word by shortening the particular slot. A detuning correction scheme is proposed by placing the slots in a special arrangement. By opting for this approach not only the tag exhibits an improved RCS response but also, the effect of shorted slot representing '0′ on the neighboring dip is reduced. The proposed RFID tag can be deployed in tracking inventory, logistics, and low-cost business applications.