Design and Analysis of a Quad-Band Antenna for IoT and Wearable RFID Applications

Abstract

The role of antennas in wireless communication is critical for enabling efficient signal transmission and reception across various frequency bands, including those associated with IoT (Internet of Things), X-band, S-band, and RFID (radio-frequency identification) systems. This paper presents a small quadruple-band antenna with 25 × 40 × 1.5 mm3 dimensions designed for diverse wireless applications. It is adept at operating in the S-band (2.2 GHz), wireless local area network (WLAN) (5.7 GHz), microwave RFID frequency band (5.8 GHz), and X-band (7.7 GHz and 8.3 GHz). While the majority of existing research focuses on antennas covering two or three bands, our work stands out by achieving quad-band operation in the proposed antenna design. This antenna is constructed on a semiflexible Rogers RT5880 substrate, making it well-suited for wearable applications. Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave studio (2019) simulation package software is chosen for design and analysis. The antenna design features a comb-shaped radiating structure, where each “tooth” is responsible for resonating at a distinct frequency with an appropriate bandwidth. The antenna retains stability in both free space and on-body wearability scenarios. It achieves a low specific absorption rate (SAR), meeting wearable criteria with SAR values below 1.6 W/Kg for all resonating frequencies. The proposed antenna demonstrates suitable radiation efficiency, reaching a maximum of 82.6% and a peak gain of 6.3 dBi. It exhibits a bidirectional pattern in the elevation plane and omnidirectional behavior in the azimuth plane. The antenna finds applications across multiple frequencies and shows close agreement between simulated and measured results, validating its effectiveness.