On Chip Modulated Scattering Tag Operating at Millimetric Frequency Band

Abstract

Abstract A miniaturized modulated scattering technique (MST) tag able to operate at millimetric frequency bands is proposed in this work. In particular, the proposed tag operates like a RFID tag, but thanks to the MST technique it does not require a radiofrequency front end. The information is carried on by modulating an interrogating electromagnetic wave with a suitable change of load impedance of the tag antenna obtained by means of an electronic switch. With respect to standard RFID tags, characterized by limited operative range, MST tags can theoretically reach any operative range up to kilometers. In this work, all the components of the MST tag are directly designed on-chip leading to a very compact design. In particular, the tag has been designed to operate at millimetric frequency bands up to 70GHz. The preliminary experimental results are quite promising, and they demonstrated the capabilities and potentialities of this technique.