A MINIATURE IMPLANTED ANTENNA FOR UHF RFID APPLICATIONS

In this paper, the design of a miniature antenna dedicated to be implanted in a small animal and intended to work in the European UHF RFID (865-868 MHz) band is presented. One of the goals of this work is the miniaturization of the radiating element while preserving its efficiency to allow a reliable communication between an external interrogating reader and the implanted device. The radiating element is a small rectangular loop antenna associated with a dipole allowing impedance matching. The antenna has dimensions of 2.4 mm * 25.4 mm * 0.5 mm and integrates an Impinj Monza 4chip presenting an impedance of 5.5 - j74 Ohms at 868 MHz. The antenna is designed and optimized by using the ANSYS HFSS software. The obtained results show a simulated radiation efficiency of 0.7% and simulated total gain of -17.5 dBi. A prototype is realized, and RSSI measurements have demonstrated the possibility of reliable wireless communications between the implanted antenna and an external reader. In addition, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) calculation indicates that this implanted antenna meets the required safety regulations.