Development of low-profile spectral signature chipless flexible RFID prototype for 5G supply chain IoT applications

A novel spectral signature Chipless Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag is designed, fabricated, and validated as a barcode replacement for Fifth Generation (5G) supply chain-based Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios. The tag displays a low profile of 12.7 × 13.9 mm2 with radiating data capacity of 32 bits. The design includes a hybrid On-Off and frequency shift keying technique to enhance the data encoding functionality. The unit tag translates 1:1 slot-to-bit by integrating an open stub L structure as a resonating assembly. Further, hybrid encoding has been incorporated to enhance the ratio up to 1:3, which leads to a 3n(2n-1) data pattern. As a result, the Chipless RFID tag offers a noticeable density per frequency of 4.6 bits/GHz for a 3.1–10.9 GHz spectral variation. The design is carried out over a flexible substrate, Taconic TLX-0, and the results exhibit fair agreement between simulated and measured results. Further, tag performance is validated by placing it on different objects: books, silver cups, and wooden boxes.