This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.
This is the author's version which has not been fully edited and
content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TAP.2023.3242079
Loop-Coupled Small Antenna with Enhanced Bandwidth
for On-Metal UHF RFID Tag Design
Shin-Rou Lee, Wai-Hau Ng, Eng-Hock Lim, and Sharul Kamal Abdul Rahim
Abstract—A small antenna with a dimension of 36 mm × 39 mm × 1.5
mm (0.109 × 0.118 × 0.0045) is proposed for wideband metal-
mountable applications. An excitation loop is designed within the antenna
structure for achieving good energy coupling from the loop to the outer
patch. With the introduction of a narrow stub, connecting the top and
bottom conductors, the 3-dB impedance bandwidth of the proposed tag can
be enhanced from 16 MHz to 50 MHz, without modifying other design
parameters. The bandwidth and the impedance matching between the
antenna and the microchip can be tuned by varying the stub width. The
gap separation between the top patches and the L-slot on the patch can also
be adjusted for bandwidth optimization. The tag is readable from at least 6
m within 896 MHz – 917 MHz, regardless of the metal plate dimension (12
cm - 24 cm). The tag is also readable from at a minimum of 4 m within a
wide frequency range of 887 MHz – 927 MHz, covering the entire US UHF
RFID band when attached to different sizes of metallic items.
Index Terms—Folded patch, metal-mountable, bandwidth
enhancement, small tag antenna.
I. INTRODUCTION
The demand for radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging
technology has been increasing recently due to its convenience and
efficiency for inventory management. Moreover, the RFID passive
tags are low in cost, long in read range, and they can store more
information, which has benefited many industries. Extensive
research has later been conducted by the researchers to design
passive UHF RFID tag antennas for different applications. Many of
the passive tag antennas are proposed for non-metal applications,
while only some are proposed for on-metal. This is because the on-
metal tags must be specifically designed to achieve long read ranges.
Moreover, it is very challenging to design an on-metal passive tag
with a long read range as the radiating current is unavoidably
canceled by its image current, resulting in deterioration in the
radiated electric fields. Some tag designs with long read ranges have
been reported in [1]-[4] for on-metal usage.
Due to the limitation of reading angle and tag orientation, some of
the researchers have also proposed on-metal tags that can be read
omnidirectionally [5] and can generate orientation insensitive read
patterns [6]. However, many of the on-metal tags cannot be used on
other types of surfaces as their resonant frequencies will shift away
from the desired tag resonances, resulting in shorter read distances.
To overcome this issue, the tags that can be used on both the
dielectrics and metals were later proposed in [7] and [8]. Those tags
are found to be able to achieve reasonably long read ranges when
attached to the dielectric and metallic items, which are applicable to
different RFID applications. Nevertheless, many of the above-
mentioned tags have narrow bandwidths, where the tags can only
work well in a small frequency range. This limits the usage of the
tags in some applications that require them to be used within a wide
frequency range.
Manuscript received January 10, 2023. This work was supported by the
university postdoctoral research scholarship. The authors are with the
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman, Bandar Sungai Long, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
(Corresponding Author: Eng-Hock Lim; e-mail: limeh@utar.edu.my).
© 2023 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.See https://www.ieee.org/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
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An antenna consisting of a proximity-coupled fed a PIFA was later
proposed in [9]. It can achieve a reasonably wide bandwidth of 49
MHz as well as a read distance of 8.9 m on metals. However, the tag
size is huge, and the tag consists of a separate feeding part which
makes the fabrication process troublesome. The tag in [10] is smaller
by utilizing multiple vias in the multilayer design. It can be read
from up to 1.8 m only with a 3-dB bandwidth of 40 MHz. Although
the tag is small, the use of metallic vias causes the tag cost to
increase. Similarly, with the inclusion of many vias, the tag in [11]
can not only be made compact but also achieve a wider bandwidth of
140 MHz. But, again, the high tag cost may not be preferable in
RFID applications. Another broadband tag antenna for on-metal has
been proposed in [12]. By inserting parasitic elements right
underneath the antenna in [12], the reading performance and the tag
bandwidth can be significantly improved when used on metals.
However, the tag has a large profile, which may not be appropriate
for small metallic items. Other tags that operate well in both the
European and US RFID bands were also reported in [13]-[15]. With
the use of a modified patch, the tags in [13] and [14] are detectable
from long distances in both the RFID bands. Adding only a vertical
slit into the tag design in [15] can also improve the tag bandwidth
effectively while achieving a long detectable range. Besides, a dual-
band tag that is made of two patches of different sizes with multiple
vias connecting them was demonstrated in [16]. The dual-band
performance is achieved by just flipping the tag. The tag size is
small, but the detectable range is short.
Unlike the tags in [9]-[11], in this communication, the proposed
metal-mountable tag antenna with enhanced bandwidth is designed
using a loop-coupled small folded patch. The bandwidth of the
proposed tag can be broadened by merely adding a narrow stub to
the tag structure for generating an adjacent resonance, which is
different from the double-layer tag design in [15] that integrates a
vertical slit into the radiating patch underneath the excitation to
achieve broadband performance. The tuning of the bandwidth is also
easy to perform, and it can be made by simply modifying the width
of the narrow stub while keeping the other design parameters
unchanged, making it possible to be done on the site. This highlights
the importance and uniqueness of the narrow stub in the tag design.
It is noteworthy to mention that the bandwidth enhancement and
tuning techniques are not only easy to implement but also low in
cost, further highlighting the uniqueness of the proposed tag design.
Most importantly, the deployment of the folding technique not only
reduces the tag size but also simplifies the design and fabrication
processes. This can reduce the overall tag cost significantly. Our tag
can also be read from a reasonably long distance within the entire US
UHF RFID band when it is mounted on metal. The configuration and
the design analysis of the proposed tag antenna are described in
Section II. Section III discusses the performances of the proposed tag
antenna. A table comparing the proposed tag with other broadband
on-metal tags is given in the final part of Section III.
II. CONFIGURATION AND DESIGN ANALYSIS
The proposed tag configuration is depicted in Fig. 1. It consists of
a folded patch antenna with a dimension of 36 mm × 39 mm (L × W).
A small rectangular loop is laminated on the same layer as the top
patch and near to its top edge for excitation, as illustrated in Fig.
 This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. This is the author's version which has not been fully edited and
content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TAP.2023.3242079

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION 2

1(a). The gap separation between the loop and the top patch, g1 is Step 2: Prototype After
made to be 0.2 mm to ensure strong energy coupling from the loop to
Ground Layer
Folding. The polyimide
film is then folded around
the patch. The top patch is then connected to the ground on the
Folding
Axis a RO4003C dielectric
substrate
bottom layer through two shorting stubs (Shorting Stub 1 and
Shorting Stub 2), which are located at the top and the bottom right of
the patch, respectively. It should be emphasized that the tag Microchip with
Copper Straps

bandwidth can be enhanced substantially by introducing Shorting Folding

Axis

Stub 1, which will be discussed later. The three-dimensional model Step 3: Final Prototype
with Microchip Attached.

of the tag antenna is also provided in Fig. 1(b). For ease of Ground Layer

fabrication, all the designs are coated on one side of a flexible

Step 1: Prototype Before Folding. The
polyimide film with εr = 3.3 and tan δ = 0.003 [17] (as shown in Fig. prototype consisting of all the designs etched

1(c)). A complete prototype is then made by folding the two flaps of on one side of polyimide film.
(c)
ground layers around an L × W RO4003C dielectric substrate [18] Fig. 1. (a) Front and side views, (b) three-dimensional model, and (c) fabricated
with a dielectric constant of εr = 3.38 and a thickness of h = 1.5 mm. prototype (before and after folding).
The prototype is fixed around the dielectric substrate using double- TABLE I
sided adhesive tape. A UCODE 8 microchip [19] with a read TAG DESIGN PARAMETERS
sensitivity of -20.85 dBm is used for excitation, and it is connected Parameter Dimension
(mm) Parameter Dimension
(mm) Parameter Dimension
(mm)
across the antenna terminals on the loop by applying silver L 36 l3 14.5 s2 1.8
conductive epoxy onto the copper straps of the microchip, as shown W
l1
39
32.5
w3
l4
0.5
14.4
s3
g1
0.87
0.2
in Fig. 1(c). All the design dimensions are provided in TABLE I. It w1 1.5 w4 19.1 g2 0.8
should be mentioned that the proposed tag is fixed at the center of a l2 9.5 l5 23.8 g3 1.6
w2 0.3 w5 12.5
20 cm × 20 cm metal plate in all the subsequent simulations, h 1.5 s1 5.7
analysis, and measurements.
The effects of the critical parameters on the tag performances are
s3 w2 Shorting also studied. To begin, the thickness of the dielectric substrate (h) is
Stub 1
Ground varied and its effects on the reflection amplitude are illustrated in
Fig. 2. It is observed that the first (shifting upward) and second
l1
s1 w1 Microchip
g1 (shifting downward) resonances move closer to each other when h is
reduced from 4.5 mm to 1.5 mm, which helps in enhancing the tag
l2 s2 Copper bandwidth. Reducing h also improves the impedance matching
Straps
g2 l4 between the antenna and the microchip. Besides, the tag reading
L w4 performances for different h are simulated. A deterioration in the tag
l3
g3 realized gain as well as the tag read distance are observed when h is
increased from 1.5 mm to 4.5 mm. The effects of the tag antenna
y w3
l5 with and without Shorting Stub 1 are also analyzed. Referring to Fig.
3(a), a new resonance (second resonance) is introduced next to the
x Shorting
Stub 2 first resonance when Shorting Stub 1 is added to the tag antenna,
Patch
h w5 z which enhances the tag bandwidth significantly. This also shows the
W x usefulness of Shorting Stub 1 in broadening the original narrow
bandwidth of the tag antenna. Besides, the width (w2) of Shorting
Polyimide Film Substrate Conductor Stub 1 is modified to study its effects on the tag bandwidth. It can be
(a)
seen in Fig. 3(b) that the 3-dB impedance bandwidth is effectively
broadened from 40 MHz to 57 MHz by widening w2 from 0.2 mm to
0.4 mm, with the impedance matching between the antenna and the
microchip deteriorating. The effects of slot lengths (l2 and l3) and s2
on the tag performances are also simulated. The input resistance and
reactance of the tag antenna increase gradually when l2 is lengthened
from 4.5 mm to 14.5 mm or s2 is reduced from 2.8 mm to 0.8 mm,
without affecting the reflection amplitudes as well as the impedance
bandwidths much. For the case of varying l3 from 7.5 mm to 14.5
mm, the 3-dB impedance bandwidths do not vary much. However,
further increasing l3 beyond 14.5 mm causes the poor 3-dB
impedance bandwidth to become poorer. This is because the first
(b)
resonance of the tag antenna has shifted to a lower frequency, while
the second resonance remains unchanged. To understand more about
the tag design, the performances of different dielectric substrates
(such as FR4 and Foam) are studied. From the simulations, the tag
antenna can be optimized to achieve a wider 3-dB bandwidth if an
FR4 substrate is used, as depicted in Fig. 4(a). However, the tag can
only be read from a very short distance across the passband due to its
low realized gain, as shown in Fig. 4(b). Although foam substrate is
flexible, the tag has a much larger size. Hence, a RO4003C dielectric

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 This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. This is the author's version which has not been fully edited and
content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TAP.2023.3242079

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION 3

substrate is selected in the design as the proposed tag not only can III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
achieve a reasonably wide bandwidth with a long detectable range With the design parameters provided TABLE I, the proposed tag
but also has a small size, which is preferable in many RFID antenna is simulated, fabricated, and measured. With reference to
applications. Fig. 6(a), a differential probe is used to measure the antenna
impedance on a 20 cm × 20 cm metal plate. Good agreement is
0

-1
observed between the simulated and measured input impedances
Reflection Amplitude, S11 (dB)

-2

-3
across the frequency range of 860 – 960 MHz, as depicted in Fig.
-4 6(b). The conjugate chip impedances across different frequencies are
-5 also plotted in the same figure. The realized gain of the proposed tag
antenna is measured next. It is measured inside an anechoic cabinet
h = 1.5 mm
-6 h = 3.0 mm
h = 4.5 mm
-7 [20], as shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 8 depicts the measured and simulated
-8
0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96 tag realized gain across 880 – 940 MHz. The discrepancies between
Frequency, f (GHz) the simulated and measured realized gains are mainly contributed by
Fig. 2. Reflection amplitude for different substrate thicknesses, h.
0
the unavoidable fabrication tolerances when etching and folding the
0
polyimide film. Misalignments between the reader antenna and the
tag antenna can also contribute to the discrepancies. The maximum
Reflection Amplitude, S11 (dB)

Reflection Amplitude, S11 (dB)

-2 -2

measured realized gain of -7.42 dBi at 907 MHz is seen ~2.4 dB

-4
lower than the simulated one at 900 MHz. It is worth mentioning that
-4

-6 -6 the proposed tag antenna can be used in a reasonably wide frequency

Tag Antenna with
Shorting Stub 1
w2 = 0.2 mm range of 893 MHz – 918 MHz (3 dB lower from -7.42 dBi) as the
measured realized gain drops slowly from its maximum across the
-8 -8 w2 = 0.3 mm
Tag Antenna without w2 = 0.4 mm
Shorting Stub 1
-10 -10 frequencies.
0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96 0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96
Frequency, f (GHz) Frequency, f (GHz) 300 600

(a) (b) CST Simulation

250 450
Fig. 3. (a) Reflection amplitude for the cases of tag antenna with and without Measurement

Input Reactance, Xin ()

Conjugate Chip Impedance

Input Resistance, Rin ()

Shorting Stub 1. (b) Reflection amplitude for different w2. 200 300
0
0
150 150
Reflection Amplitude, S11 (dB)

-5 -5
Realized Gain, Gr (dBi)

100 0
-10
-10

-15 50 -150
-15
Tag Antenna with RO4003C -20 0 -300
Tag Antenna with FR4 0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96
-20 Tag Antenna with RO4003C
-25 Tag Antenna with FR4 Frequency, f (GHz)

-25
(a) (b)
-30
0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96 0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96 Fig. 6. (a) Input impedance measurement is performed using a differential
Frequency, f (GHz) Frequency, f (GHz)
probe. (b) Simulated and measured input impedances of the proposed tag
(a) (b) antenna from 860 MHz to 960 MHz.
Fig. 4. (a) Reflection amplitude and (b) realized gain for the cases with the
RO4003C and FR4 substrates.
The surface current distributions on the proposed tag antenna are
depicted in Fig. 5. With reference to Fig. 5(a), high current densities
are found on the larger patch where an L-slot is etched, implying that
the first resonance of 895.4 MHz is dominated by the larger patch.
Lower current densities are observed on the smaller patch. However,
by adding the thin Shorting Stub 1 to the proposed tag, the current
densities on the smaller patch are significantly enhanced, as shown
in Fig. 5(b). This has resulted in the introduction of the second Fig. 7. Measurement setup inside an anechoic cabinet.
resonance at 925.6 MHz, which is close to the first resonance. With 0

the existence of the second resonance, the bandwidth of the tag

-5
antenna can now be enhanced and adjusted easily by changing the
Realized Gain, Gr (dBi)

width of Shorting Stub 1, highlighting the importance of this -10

shorting stub. -15

-20 Simulation
Measurement

-25

-30
0.88 0.89 0.90 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94
Frequency, f (GHz)
Fig. 8. Simulated and measured tag realized gains on a 20 cm × 20 cm metal
plate.
Besides, the read patterns in the xy-, xz-, and yz-planes of the
(a) (b) proposed tag antenna are measured with the use of a 4 W EIRP. The
Fig. 5. Surface current distributions on the proposed tag antenna at the (a) first read pattern in the xy-plane is first analyzed. It can be observed in
resonance of 895.4 MHz and (b) second resonance of 925.6 MHz. Fig. 9(a) that a maximum read distance of ~ 9 m is achievable at  =

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content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TAP.2023.3242079

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION 4

160 and 340; whereas a slightly lower read distance of ~ 8 m is

10
Container A Container D
Container B Container E
obtainable at  = 0 and 180. It should be mentioned that, for ease Tag Location
8
Container C Container F

Container E
of measurement, the realized gain of the tag (shown in Fig. 8) is

Read Distance (m)

measured at  = 0. The read patterns in the xz- and yz-planes are
6
Container B
analyzed next. Maximum read distances of ~ 10 m and ~ 9 m are Container A Container D
4

seen at  = 20 and 0, respectively, in the xz- and yz-planes in Fig. 2
9(b). It should be emphasized that the proposed tag can still be read Container C

from a long distance of 8 m at the boresight although its maximum Container F 0

0.88 0.89 0.90 0.91 0.92 0.93

beam is tilted. Frequency, f (GHz)

(a) (b)
Read Distance (m) Read Distance (m) Fig. 11. (a) Different surface areas of containers [15]. (b) Measured detectable
350 0 10  () -10 0 10
330
340 10 20
30  () -30
-20 10 20
30
 () ranges for different containers.
320 40 -40 40
8 8

300
310
6
50
60 -60
-50
6
50
60
Table II compares the proposed tag with other wideband metal-
4 4
mountable tags. It can be noticed that the tags in [2], [4], [9], and [12]
290 70 -70 70

280 2 80 -80
yz-plane 2 80
can achieve much larger realized gains and longer read distances than
270 0 90 -90 0
xz-plane
90
the proposed tag when the UCODE 8 microchip is used. However,
260 xy-plane 100 -100 100
their tag sizes are much larger than the proposed tag size. Although the
250 110 -110 110 tag in [11] has a wide 3-dB impedance bandwidth, its design involves
240 120 -120 120 the integration of multiple metallic vias, making not only the
230 130 -130 130 fabrication process troublesome but also the tag cost higher. Similarly,
220
210 150
140 -140
-150 150
140
the tag in [10] uses numerous metallic vias for miniaturization. Its tag
size is small, but it can only be read from up to 5 m if the UCODE 8
200 160 -160 160
190 180 170 -170 -180 170

(a) (b) microchip is used, which is much shorter than the proposed tag
Fig. 9. Measured read distances of the proposed tag antenna in the (a) xy-, (b)
detectable range. It should be highlighted that, with a reasonably small
xz- and yz- planes at 907 MHz.
size, our tag can not only be read from a long read distance but can
The tag performances on different dimensions of metal plates are also obtain a reasonably broad bandwidth without incorporating
also evaluated in Fig. 10. It can be seen that the tag can achieve a multiple conductor layers and metallic vias.
reasonably long read distance of at least 6.7 m when Dx of the metal
plate is varied from 12 cm to 24 cm with Dy fixed at 20 cm, as TABLE II
COMPARISON OF ON-METAL UHF TAGS
illustrated in Fig. 10(a). In the case of changing Dy from 12 cm to 24 No. of Measured /
Powe Backing 3-dB Max.
cm (Dx = 20 cm), the achievable read distance remains almost
#
Metallic Tag Tag Estimated
r Plate Impedance Realized
Ref. Vias and Size Volume Max. Read
unchanged at ~ 8 m. It is worth mentioning that the tag is readable Conductor
(EIR
P)
(mm3) (mm3)
Size
(cm)
Bandwidth
(MHz)
Gain
(dBi)
Distance
Layers (m)
from at least ~ 6 m within a reasonably wide frequency range of 896 This 36  39
0 and 2 4W 2106 20  20 50^ -7.42* ~10
MHz – 917 MHz, regardless of changing Dx or Dy from 12 cm to 24 work  1.5

cm. The performances when the tag is mounted on different surface [2] 0 and 1 4W
120 ×
60 × 1.9
13680 15  30 13* -1.5* 10 / 15.1

areas of metallic containers (shown in Fig. 11(a)) are also studied. The [4] 0 and 3 4W
45 × 45
6480 20  20 15.6^ 1.05* 19 / 20.6
surface areas of containers A, B, and D onto which the tag is attached × 3.2
72.1 
are 17 cm × 23.5 cm, 10 cm × 20.5 cm, and 21 cm × 21 cm, [9] 2 and 3 4W 25.5  5883 20  20 49*
Approx.
0.65*
8.9 / 19.7
3.2
respectively. Containers C, E, and F have diameters of 19 cm, 15 cm, 28 × 14
[10] 5 and 3 4W 1254 20  20 40* -11.2* 1.8 / 5
and 7.5 cm, respectively. The tag is readable from at least 6 m when it × 3.2
56  26
is mounted on the metallic containers A – E depicted in Fig. 11(b). A [11] 10 and 3 4W
 3.2
4659 20  20 140* -4.3^ 3.5 / 10.9

lower read distance of ~ 4 m is obtainable when the tag is mounted on [12] 0 and 3 4W
104 ×
31 × 7.6
24502 30  25
Approx.
110*
0.6* 14.6 / 19.7

the small metallic container F. This can be due to the change in the * and ^ are the measured and simulated values, respectively.
radiation beam of the tag antenna [21]. With reference to the same # calculated values using UCODE 8 microchip and 4 W EIRP.
figure, although there is a shift in the tag’s resonant frequency, the
small tag can still work reasonably well within a wide frequency range IV. CONCLUSION
of 887 MHz – 927 MHz (read distance > 4 m for containers A - E;
A loop-coupled folded patch antenna has been proposed for
read distance > 2 m for container F), which covers the entire US UHF
designing a small on-metal tag antenna with enhanced bandwidth. It
RFID band. Moreover, from simulations, the tag is observed to be able
is found that, without modifying other design parameters, the
to achieve a comparable read distance at a minimum of 4 m within 855
simulated tag bandwidth can be enhanced up to 50 MHz by adding
MHz – 916 MHz when it is attached to a rectangular bottle (15 cm × 4
merely a narrow shorting stub to the tag design. The impedance
cm × 4 cm) with water.
10
bandwidth can be tuned by adjusting the width of the shorting stub,
10
Dx = 24 cm
Dx = 20 cm
Dy = 24 cm
Dy = 20 cm
with the price of deteriorating the impedance matching between the
8
Dx = 16 cm
Dx = 12 cm
8 Dy = 16 cm
Dy = 12 cm
antenna and the microchip. Also, it has been shown that the tag
which has a thin dielectric substrate can achieve a broad bandwidth.
Read Distance (m)

Read Distance (m)

6
The tag has also been tested on different sizes of metal plates and
6

4
metal plate
4
metal plate
metallic items. Measurements show that the tag can achieve long
Dy tag
y
Dy tag
y
read distances of at least 6 m within 896 MHz – 917 MHz, regardless
2
Dx
x
2
Dx
x of the metal plate dimension. The tag can also be read from at least 4
0 0 m within 887 MHz – 927 MHz when it is placed on different surfaces
0.88 0.89 0.90 0.91 0.92 0.93
of metallic items.
0.88 0.89 0.90 0.91 0.92 0.93
Frequency, f (GHz) Frequency, f (GHz)
(a) (b)
Fig. 10. Measured read distances for different (a) Dx and (b) Dy.

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 This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. This is the author's version which has not been fully edited and
content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TAP.2023.3242079

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION 5

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