Screen printed chipless RFID tags on packaging substrates

A chipless radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is a suitable low-cost alternative to any chip-based RFID one. The flexibility to use low-cost printing techniques makes chipless RFID a competitive technology. In this paper, we report an evaluation of the microwave performance of two different screen-printed chipless tags in the 3–6 GHz range. The tags were designed and screen printed on industry packaging laminates using nanoparticle conductive ink-paste supplied by ANP and InkTec companies. The measured microwave performance of tags was compared with simulated performance and printing parameters that influence the print quality, and eventually, the microwave response of the tags are discussed.