10

XIOS HOGESCHOOL LIMBURG
DEPARTEMENT TOEGEPASTE INGENIEURSWETENSCHAPPEN
CHARACTERIZATION OF
PRINTABLE ELECTRONICS
Vera VINGERHOETS
Afstudeerwerk ingediend tot het behalen van het diploma van

master in de industriële wetenschappen: elektronica-ICT
Promotoren: prof. dr. W. De Ceuninck (Lumoza/IMO)

Ing. W. Moons (Lumoza/IMO)
dr. Ing. J.M.J. Boutsen (XIOS Hogeschool Limburg)
Academiejaar 2009 - 2010

University-College XIOS Limburg
Department of Industrial Sciences and
Technology - Engineering
Industrial Sciences: Electronics-ICT
Intern Mentor: dr. Ing. Jan Boutsen

Extern Mentor: Ing. Wouter Moons
University-College XIOS Limburg

Department of Industrial Sciences and Technology - Engineering
Industrial Sciences: Electronics-ICT Engineering

Universitaire Campus
Agoralaan - Building H
B-3590 Diepenbeek, België
Telephone: +32-11-370 777

Email: info@xios.be
This work was created in collaboration with Lumoza in Diepenbeek.
Versie 1.0 and compiled on April 30, 2010 with LATEX
Master thesis to obtain the degree of

Master in the Industrial Science:
Electronics-ICT
Academic Year 2009-2010
Preface
The world is becoming more sophisticated each day. Pets can’t get lost anymore, we don’t need
keys but use badges to enter and we can easily scan products without using barcodes. These
are just a few examples RFID has brought us. RFID is continuously being developed to make it
cheaper and faster. Now it is even possible to print it directly on products using conductive inks
instead of copper.
A company that is interested in these areas is Lumoza. It is specialized in printable electronics

and works together with Artist Screen to make for example DVD boxes with light animations.
To broaden its research Lumoza wants to use their expertise to create their own printable RFID
antennas.
During my time at Lumoza, I had the opportunity to look deeper into this research. It was the first
time I came in contact with printable electronics and the subject intrigued me from the start. The
subject was very challenging and closely connected with my studies at school. It was an instructive
experience that I look back at with much pleasure.
I would like to thank my extern mentor, Ing. Wouter Moons, for his patience, his time and help. He
gave me the chance to start my research at Lumoza, he gave me advice and guidance throughout
my research. A word of gratitude to my intern mentor, dr.Ing. Jan Boutsen, for the time, the help
and his knowledge of RFID. He helped me with the RFID part of my research. I would also like
to thank the researchers of IMO, to whom I could count on when I asked for help.
I would like to thank my family, parents-in-law and especially my fiancé and dearest friend Igor
for their help and support during the course of my research.
Dilsen-Stokkem
Vera Vingerhoets
i
Abstract (English)
Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) is a technology that has been studied for years. More re-
cently it has become more and more integrated in our way of life. Therefore new techniques are
still developed to continuously improve RFID. Currently, a new hot topic is printable RFID anten-
nas with conductive ink. Lumoza, a company which specializes in electroluminescent printable
electronics, is expanding their research to printable RFID antennas. It opens a lot of possibilities
for Lumoza because of its cheaper productivity costs.
The main challenge is to search for a good conductive ink and to tune the antenna at a frequency
of 13,56MHz. The concept is based on using RFID antennas instead of barcodes on the cover of
products.
The first important step is analyzing this technology through a literature study and an analysis of
a non-printable RFID tag antenna. This is followed by the characterization of the different inks
and the measurements of the widths of the coil lines. The final step is calculating and designing a
prototype antenna.
The prototype antenna, which uses a conductive silver ink of Dupont, has a frequency of 110MHz.
With a good working capacitor this frequency can be brought down. It is also possible to lower
this frequency by inserting a few more coils into the antenna design. However, this must be used
with prudence because the presence of a microchip will also lower the frequency.
The silver ink absorbs the dielectric when printing a capacitor on the antenna. A solution would
be using another dielectric, which will not be absorbed by the conductive ink. Another possibility
would be searching for a different ink with good conductivity and low resistance without the
previous discussed problems.
The first steps towards further research are finding a good conductive ink or dielectric for the
capacitor. This forms a good base to test the antenna on different substrates. Even more research
can be done to attach a microchip to the antenna.
ii
Abstract (Dutch)
Radio Frequentie IDentificatie (RFID) is een technologie die al enkele jaren wordt bestudeerd.
De laatste jaren is RFID meer en meer geı̈mplementeerd in onze levenswijze. Er blijven nieuwe
technieken ontwikkeld worden om RFID continu te verbeteren. Een recente tak van dit onderzoek
omvat het printen van RFID antennes met geleidende inkt. Lumoza, een bedrijf dat gespecialiseerd
is in electroluminescente printbare elektronica, breidt zijn onderzoeksterrein hier naar uit. Door
de goedkopere productiviteitskosten zijn er vele nieuwe mogelijkheden voor Lumoza.
De uitdaging is het zoeken naar een goede geleidende inkt en het juist afstellen van de antenne
op een frequentie van 13,56MHz. Het concept is gebaseerd op het gebruik van RFID antennes in
plaats van barcodes op producten.
Het eerste belangrijke onderdeel van dit onderzoek is het analyzeren van deze technologie door
een literatuurstudie alsook door een analyze van een niet geprinte RFID tag antenne. Deze stap
wordt gevolgd door de karakterisatie van de verschillende inkten en het meten van de breedte van
de winding. De uiteindelijke stap is het berekenen en ontwerpen van een prototype van de antenne.
Het prototype van de antenne, bestaande uit een geleidende zilver inkt van Dupont, heeft een
frequentie van 110MHz. Deze frequentie kan verlaagd worden met behulp van een goed werkende
condensator of door extra windingen toe te voegen aan de antenne. De laatste manier is afhankelijk
van het al dan niet aanwezig zijn van een microchip, die er ook voor zorgt dat de frequentie zal
dalen.
De zilver inkt absorbeert het diëlectricum bij het printen van de condensator op de antenne. Een
oplossing hiervoor is het gebruik van een ander diëlectricum dat niet geabsorbeerd wordt door de
geleidende inkt. Een andere mogelijkheid is het zoeken naar een inkt met goede geleiding en lage
weerstand die de voornoemde problemen niet heeft.
Toekomstig werk omvat het vinden van een goede geleidende inkt of een diëlectricum voor het
printen van de condensator. Deze moeten vervolgens getest worden op het gebruik van verschil-
lende substraten. Uiteindelijk moet de mogelijkheid bestudeerd worden of een microchip kan
toegevoegd worden op de antenne.
iii
Contents
Preface i
Abstract (English) ii
Abstract (Dutch) iii
Contents iv
List of Figures vii
List of Abbreviations ix
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Research question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Potential problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Radio Frequency Identification 4

2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 RFID tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.1 Active tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.2 Semi-Passive tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.3 Passive tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 Frequency regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3.1 Low frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3.2 High frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.3 Ultra high frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.4 Microwave area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
iv
CONTENTS v
2.4 RFID tag-reader transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.4.1 Inductive Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4.2 Backscattering Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.3 Anti-collision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.5 Applications & Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.5.1 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.5.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3 Screen printing technique 16

3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 Inks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.3 Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 RFID Print techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.4.2 Screen printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.4.3 Inkjet printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.4.4 Flexographic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.4.5 Offset lithography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.4.6 Gravure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4 Experimental work 24
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2 Characterization of the inks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2.2 Test lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.2.3 Working principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.2.4 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.3 Determining the line width of the antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.3.2 Skin effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.3.3 Test lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.3.4 Network analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.3.5 Substrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
CONTENTS vi
4.3.6 Working principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4.3.7 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.4 Designing & measuring of the antenna prototype . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.4.2 Design of the antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.4.3 Test Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.4.4 Q-factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.4.5 Working principle & Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5 Conclusion & Future work 49
A Appendix 50
B Appendix 51
Bibliography 52
List of Figures
2.1 RFID tag&reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.2 IFF: Communication between ground and plane via backscatter coupling . . . . . 5
2.3 RFID tag Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4 Active Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.5 Semi-Passive Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.6 Passive Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.7 Radio Frequency Spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.8 High Frequency Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.9 Reader-Tag Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.10 Inductive Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.11 Backscattering Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.1 Example of a screen, they are available in different sizes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3.2 Pictures of screen fabric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3 Theoretical layer thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.4 Screen printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.5 Flexographic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.6 Offset Lithography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.7 Rotorgravure print unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.1 Test preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.2 Clips where the glass substrate would be connected with the equipement . . . . . 26
4.3 Measurement profile in labview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.4 Metal contacts of the mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.5 Tape-casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.6 Connection clips with the rest of the equipement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
vii
4.7 log(Ires ) and log(Iohm ) together with the temperature profile. . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.8 The 7 line widths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.9 Skin Effect lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.10 Metal Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.11 Electronic Calibration N4431-60003 (300kHz- 9GHz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.12 S-parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.13 Smith Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.14 Screen printer Isimat 1000p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.15 Difference between sheet 1 and sheet 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.16 LogMag S11 and S21 (line a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.17 S12: measuring of the velocity (line a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.18 LogMag S11 and S21 (line b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.19 S21: measuring of the velocity (line b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.20 LogMag S11 and S21 (line g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.21 S21: measuring of the velocity (line g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.22 Design RFID Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.23 Test lab Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.24 3 possible values of the Q-factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.25 Microscopic view of the same spot with 2 different inks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.26 Silver antenna without dielectric or capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.27 Antenna design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.28 Antenna with aluminum foil as capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.29 Antenna with aluminum foil as capacitor (Graph) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.30 Antenna with aluminum foil as capacitor and teflon as dielectric . . . . . . . . . 45
4.31 Antenna with epoxy to fixate the wire connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.32 Antenna with epoxy without a capacity gives a frequency of 93MHz . . . . . . . 46
4.33 Antenna with epoxy and 2 different capacitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.34 Antenna without capacity measuring the Q-factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
viii
List of Abbreviations
Auto-ID Auto identification
C Celsius
c centi
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
DAQ Data Aquisition

dB Decibel
DVD Digital Video Disc
ECal Electronic Calibration

EHF Extremely High Frequency
e.g. For example
etc. Etcetera
FDMA Frequency Domain Multiple Access

FDX Full Duplex
ix
FTO Fluorine doped Tin Oxide
G Giga
GPIB General purpose interface bus
HDX Half Duplex

HF High Frequency
Hz Hertz
Iohm Ohmic current

Ires Residual current
IFF Identify Friend or Foe
IMEC Interuniversity MicroElectronics Centre
IMO Institute for Materials Research (Instituut voor MateriaalOnderzoek)
IMOMEC Institute for material research in Micro Electronics
ISO International Organization for Standardization
k Kilo
LF Low Frequency
log Logarithm
LogMag Logarithmic Magnitude
x
m Meter
M Mega
MF Medium Frequency
mm Millimeter
PEDOT:PSS Poly(3,4 -ethylenedioxythiophene)poly(styrenesulfonate)

PVC Polyvinylchloride
Q-factor Quality factor
RFID Radio Frequency IDentification
SEQ Sequential Systems

SDMA Space Division Multiple Access
SHF Super High Frequency
SMA SubMiniature version A
S-parameters Scattering parameters
TDMA Time Domain Multiple Access
UHasselt University Hasselt

UHF Ultra High Frequency
UV Ultra Violet
xi
V
VHF Very High Frequency

VLF Very Low Frequency
VNA Vector Network Analyzer
xii
Introduction
1
1.1 Background
Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) is a technology which has been around for years and
during that time it has been developed continuously. A new hot topic is printable RFID antennas
with conductive ink. This technology could lower the price from 20-60 cents per tag to 15-30
cents each and perhaps even more if the production process can be optimized [1].
Lumoza is a spin-off of the University Hasselt (UHasselt) and the Interuniversity MicroElectron-
ics Centre (IMEC). IMEC is a micro- and nanoresearch center in Leuven, Belgium. Lumoza is
cooperating with a screen printing company Artist Screen. At the moment Lumoza’s research
is being conducted at the Institute for Materials Research (IMO) in Diepenbeek. IMO is a re-
search centre of the UHasselt and has a collaboration with the Institute for Materials Research in
MicroElectronics (IMOMEC) which is an associated lab of IMEC in Diepenbeek.
Lumoza specializes in electroluminescent printable electronics e.g. luminous electronics in pack-

aging and wants to expand their research to printable RFID antennas which has a lot of possi-
bilities. The production process is much cheaper and faster than in the old fashion way and the
electronics are flexible and flat. A lot of techniques can be used to print electronics e.g. screen
printing, gravure and flexographic printing. Lumoza uses the screen printing technique because
it’s a fast method of printing and there was the opportunity of collaboration with Artist Screen.
1
1.2. RESEARCH QUESTION 2
1.2 Research question
The main challenge of making printable RFID antennas is to search for a good conductive ink and
to tune the antenna at a frequency of 13,56MHz. This goal can be translated into a number of
objectives.
• Find the right temperature for curing the ink. This objective is important to make the antenna
more conductive. The best temperature is when the resistance of the ink is at its lowest point,
at this moment the solvent is evaporated from the ink, only the binder and the conductive
particles are present.
• Determine the optimal line width of the coil of the antenna. This will be needed to start
designing the antenna. If the value of the width is chosen too high, the surface of the
antenna will be too large and if the value is chosen too low, the coil will be too small to be
conductive enough.
• Design a prototype of the antenna using the line width that is determined in the previous
step. Important design issues are the size of the surface, the line width of the coil and the
number of windings of the coil.
• Tune the antenna at 13,56MHz. This will be done by printing a capacitor with a dielectric
on the antenna. The difficulty will be deciding the size of the capacitor.
• Decide which ink will give the best result. There are many kinds of inks, very conductive
inks, more resistive inks, cheap inks, etc.
• Test the antenna on different substrates. The ultimate goal would be printing an RFID tag
antenna directly at the cover of products (made of plastic, paper, . . . .)
1.3 Potential problems
There is already research being done in the field of printable RFID antennas by Teresa Reyes. In
that research the RFID antennas were printed via a modified inkjet printer to print conductive ink.
One of the problems was the accuracy of the printer in the printing resuslts, for example short
circuits, holes within the lines, wiped out parts. Using a silk screen printer will solve this problem.
The first problem to encouter is determining the best temperature to dry the ink. The right temper-
atur is after the solvent of the ink is evaporated but before the binder will be broken.
Another problem will be designing and tuning of the antenna at 13,56MHz. This frequency has a
little tolerance, because if a chip would be connected to the antenna the capacity will rise and the
frequency will brought down. If the antenna would be printed on another substrate, the properties
and the frequency will also change. These things must be considered when tuning the antenna.
Vera Vingerhoets The characterization of printable electronics

1.4. OUTLINE 3
1.4 Outline
This thesis consists of two main parts. The first part is a literature study about RFID in chapter 2
and silk screen printing in chapter 3. The second part described in chapter 4 is the research and
the results of designing the RFID-antenna. It is divided in 3 important parts, the characterization
of the inks, determining the line width of the antenna and designing and measuring of the antenna.
Chapter 5 closes with a conclusion and future work.

Radio Frequency Identification
2
2.1 Introduction
RFID, short for Radio Frequency Identification, is a way of sending information about objects
or living creatures by using radiowaves. This information exists mainly of a unique number and
sometimes extra data and it’s been contained within the microchip of the RFID tag. It is however,
also possible to detect the presence of an RFID tag without a unique number, it will just detect the
binary state (0 or 1).
To send and receive information, there is need for a transponder and a reader or interrogator. The
transponder, also called RFID tag, has a microchip which is connected to an antenna. The whole
RFID tag is attached to the object or living creature that must be tracked. Some RFID tags don’t
have a microchip, they are called chipless tags, so they can’t store any data. They can only show
their presence.
The RFID reader will receive the signal and this information will be sent to a computer, where it
can be saved or compared within a database. Depending on the purpose of the information, the
RFID reader will send extra information back to the RFID tag (see figure 2.1 on the following
page [2]).
The technique RFID belongs to the Auto Identification group (Auto-ID). It represents many dif-
ferent methods to collect data and saves it in databases without any human interaction [3]. For
example barcodes on products, it consists of a series of black bars and white spaces of varying
4
2.1. INTRODUCTION 5
Figure 2.1: RFID tag&reader
widths [3]. It will be read by a scanner, but this method requires a clean line of sight and a proper
orientation of the scanner and the bar. Another example are the magnetic strips, these are known
of the credit and debit cards. This technique requires physical contact between the card and the
reader [3]. The difference between these methods is the unique way they save and read the infor-
mation.
RFID is a technique that has been around for decades. It all started in 1940, during World War
II where both sides (Germans and alliance) were using radar to warn of approaching planes when
they were still far away. However, it was impossible to identify which planes belonged to which
side. Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, born in Scotland, is considered by many as the inventor
of radar. He developed the first active Identify Friend or Foe (IFF). The transmitter was put on each
British plane. When it received signals from radarstations at the ground, it began broadcasting a
signal back that identified the aircraft as friendly (see figure 2.2 [4]) [5].
Figure 2.2: IFF: Communication between ground and plane via backscatter coupling

2.2. RFID TAG 6
2.2 RFID tag
As previously stated, there are many different RFID tags. They consist of 2 parts, a microchip and
an antenna (see figure 2.3 [6]). This figure represents the making of an RFID tag. First a substrate
is chosen, it could be paper, plastic, etc. Hereupon the antenna will be printed with conductive ink
or will be created out of a metal (e.g. copper). The next step is to print or connect a capacitor with
a dielectric, this will determine the frequency on which the antenna will work. After this step a
chip will be placed on the surface with a conductive connection like gold bumps. The last step is
to protect the tag with an overlay of PVC, adhesive paper, . . . .
Figure 2.3: RFID tag Components
There are 3 types of tags: active, semi-passive and passive tags. They have there own specifications
and applications.
2.2.1 Active tag
Active tags have their own powersource and active transmitter (see figure 2.4 [4]). They can send
signals to approximately 230m [3]. This is much farther than passive tags (see also 2.2.3). The
advantage of an own powersource is the possibility to connect different sensors with the tag. This
way the tag can collect some extra information that can be send to the reader. The active transmitter
provides the opportunity to send the information whenever the tag wants, it doesn’t have to wait
until the reader sends a signal (unlike the passive tag). The presence of the powersource makes the
tag more expensive, the price can vary from 10 to 50 euro, the reader will be much cheaper [7].
Figure 2.4: Active Tag

2.3. FREQUENCY REGIONS 7
2.2.2 Semi-Passive tag
Semi-passive tags are a combination of active and passive tags. They possess an own powersource
as active tags do. This has a dual purpose, it increases the reading distance and sensors can
be connected. As read in section 2.2.1, on-board sensors have the possibility to send additional
information with the unique identification number to the reader. Besides the powersource, the
semi-passive tag doesn’t have an active transmitter (like active tags). To send information, the
tag has to wait until the reader sends information waves. It uses the reflections of this wave to
send the information straight to the reader (see figure 2.5 [4]. This is called coupling and it will
be explained in section 2.4. The price of the semi-passive tag is between the price of the active
and the passive tag. The active tag is more expensive because of the active transmitter, while the
passive tag is very cheap because it doesn’t have a powersource or a transmitter.
Figure 2.5: Semi-Passive Tag
2.2.3 Passive tag
Passive tags don’t own powersources or active transmitters (see figure 2.6 [4]). They use coupling
(see section 2.4) to send the unique number to the reader. The receiving power of the reader is
not very high, the passive tag functions are therefore limited. Connecting external sensors is not
possible, they need a continuous powersupply. As said before, passive tags are very cheap between
0,1 and 1 euro [7].
Figure 2.6: Passive Tag
2.3 Frequency regions
The radiation spectrum consists of multiple areas, starting with electric- and radiowaves and end-
ing with gamma- and cosmic rays, the radiospectrum lies between 9kHz and 3000GHz. It is

divided into many small segments to categorize this enormous range of frequencies (see table 2.1
for a list of examples). RFID systems use only 4 of these segments with frequencies varying from
approximately 30kHz to 10GHz (see figure 2.7 [3]).
Figure 2.7: Radio Frequency Spectrum
Table 2.1: Examples of the different frequency ranges of the radiospectrum
Frequency band Frequency range Wavelength Application

Very Low Frequency (VLF) 3 - 30kHz 100km - 10km Long range navigation and marine radio
Low frequency (LF) 30 - 300kHz 10km - 1km Aeronautical and marine navigation
Medium Frequency (MF) 300kHz - 3MHz 1km - 100m AM radio and radio telecommunication
High Frequency (HF) 3 - 30MHz 100m - 10m Amateur radio bands, NRC time signal
Very High Frequency (VHF) 30 - 300MHz 10m - 1m TV, FM, cordless phones, air traffic control
Ultra High Frequency (UHF 300MHz - 3GHz 1m - 10cm UHF TV, satellite, air traffic radar, etc
Super High Frequency (SHF) 3 - 30GHz 10cm - 1cm Mostly satellite TV and other satellites
Extremely High Frequency (EHF) 30 - 300GHz 1cm - 1mm Remote sensing and other satellites
• Low frequency ( 2.3.1)
• High frequency ( 2.3.2)
• Ultra High Frequency ( 2.3.3)
• Microwave ( 2.3.4)
The frequency of a tag depends on the size of the antenna (which is depending on the width of the
antenna lines), the number of turns and the value of the capacitor. Equation 2.1 shows the relation
between frequency, inductance and capacitance.

1
f= √ (2.1)
2·π· L·C
f = Frequency of the wave (Hz)

L = Inductance (H)
C = Capacitance (F)
The capacitance is the value of the capacitor that is connected with the antenna. The inductance
depends on 3 things: the number of turns, the current and the magnetic flux (equation 2.2). The
number of turns is related to the size of the antenna. When the antenna is large, there could be
more turns which also depends on the width of the antenna lines. If these are small, more turns
can be placed. Also the spacing between 2 coils can change the inductance.
N ·Φ
L= (2.2)
I
L = Inductance (H)
N = Number of turns
Φ = The magnetic flux (Wb)
I = The current (A)
The frequency is inversely proportional to the wavelength (equation 2.3), which means waves with
high frequencies have shorter wavelengths and waves with low frequencies have longer wave-
lengths as can be seen in table 2.1.
c
λ= (2.3)
f
λ = Wavelenght (m)
c = The speed of light = 2, 99 · 108 m/s
f = Frequency of the wave (Hz)
2.3.1 Low frequency
The low frequency (LF) lies between 30kHz and 300kHz. Only passive RFID tags use LF and this
between 125kHz and 134kHz [8]. The read range is very short, which means the tag must be hold
close to the reader. These tags can send a limited amount of data via near-field inductive coupling
(see section 2.4.1). For the reader is it difficult at LF to read many tags at the same time, because
there is a limited or no anti-collision system implemented (see section 2.4.3 for a more detailed

explanation of anti-collision systems). Despite these disadvantages, it is a stable system that can
return the signal safely in almost any disturbing circumstances. This technique is quite expensive
because of the structure of the tag antenna. It consists of a copper coil of 100 windings around an
iron core.
2.3.2 High frequency
In the high frequency (HF) area, between 3MHz and 30MHz, the passive RFID applications use
the frequency at 13,56MHz [8]. They send data via near-field inductive coupling (see section 2.4.1)
just as the RFID systems at LF. The production process of HF systems are cheaper than that of
LF systems because the structure of these antennas are simpler. They are made of copper or
conductive (silver) ink and are partitioned in 6 to 10 turns (see figure 2.8 [3]).
Figure 2.8: High Frequency Tag
2.3.3 Ultra high frequency
UHF, stands for ultra high frequency, contains the frequencies between 300MHz and 1000MHz [8].
The active RFID applications use 433MHz and the passive and semi-passive RFID applications
use the 860MHz until 960MHz area. The passive UHF tags use backscatter coupling to send in-
formation to the reader (see section 2.4.2). A disadvantage of UHF is the sensitivity of liquids. If
it comes between the tag and the reader, the frequencies will be absorbed by the water. Though it
is possible to place an UHF tag on a bottle of wine as long as there is a air gap between the tag
and the liquid.

2.4. RFID TAG-READER TRANSMISSION 11
2.3.4 Microwave area
The microwave area lies between 1 and 10 GHz. Again the RFID applications will not use this
whole area, only 2 frequencies 2,45GHz and 5,8GHz [3]. As with UHF the passive tags will also
use backscatter coupling (see section 2.4.2). The reader distance is different for the 3 types of
tags [3]. The maximum read distances are approximately:
• Active applications: 105m
• Passive applications: 5m
• Semi-passive applications: 40m
2.4 RFID tag-reader transmission
To communicate between the reader and the tag standard protocols are designed, explaining how
the information will be exchanged, which signals will be used, how to combine the data to make
it meaningful again, etc. There are different protocols, depending on the frequency or tag type.
These standards are established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
There are 2 ways of sending information between the reader and the tag, using a transmitter (active
tags) or using coupling (semi-passive and passive tags). Coupling is an energy transfer amongst
the reader and the tag. This way the passive tag receives the necessary power to exchange its
information [9]. Depending on the used frequency and the distance between the tag and the reader,
there are 2 methodes of coupling, inductive and backscattering coupling (see figure 2.9 on the
following page [6]).
Sometimes there is unintentional coupling, this is interference called cross-talk. It’s a phenomenon
by which a transmitted signal in one circuit creates an undesired effect in another circuit. It is
caused by undesired capacitive, inductive or conductive coupling between two circuits. This can
be avoided by increasing the space between the circuits or by shielding everything.
While communicating with the reader, it is possible that another tag is also within the range of the
reader. To prevent collisions (data losses, interferences) the reader and the tag must be designed
to detect the presence of another tag. The anti-collision system is a technical procedure to handle
multi-access without interference (see also section 2.4.3).
RFID systems can be divided in 2 procedures, half/full duplex (HDX, FDX) and sequential sys-
tems (SEQ) [10]. With duplex systems, the radio frequency field of the reader stays on, the
transponder can send whole the time information. FDX means it’s possible for the tag and re-
ceiver to send simultaneously signals. In HDX the tag and the reader can send both signals but not
simultaneously [3]. The SEQ has a radio frequency field that powers up in intervals. Only on the
right time information can be send.

Figure 2.9: Reader-Tag Coupling
2.4.1 Inductive Coupling
Inductive coupling, also named near-field coupling, uses the magnetic field between the reader and
the tag to transfer energy (see figure 2.10 [10]).
Figure 2.10: Inductive Coupling
The reader’s antenna coil generates a strong high frequency electromagnetic field, because the
passive RFID tags need the energy for the operation of the microchip and for sending informa-
tion to the reader. This electromagnetic field penetrates the cross-section of the coil area. The
electromagnetic field may be treated as a simple magnetic alternating field if the wavelength of
the frequency range is much greater than the distance between the reader’s antenna and the tag
antenna. This induces a current in the tag antenna [3] [10].
The boundary between near-field and far-field depends on the frequency of the transmission and
on the size of the transmitting antenna [3]. The outer range of the near-field can be calculated with
formula 2.4.
λ
r= (2.4)
2·π

λ = Wavelenght (m)
r = Outer range of the near-field (m)
With this formula the outer range of the near-field can be calculated for the high frequency of
13,56MHz. The wavelength of 13,56MHz can be calculated with equation 2.3. Computation of r
can be made with equation 2.5 after substituting equation 2.3 in equation 2.4.
c 2,99·108
λ f 13,56·106
r= = = = 3, 5m (2.5)
2·π 2·π 2·π
The near-field range r for an RFID frequency of 13,56MHz is 3,5m. Passive tags which operates
at 13,56MHz, have to be within this area to work properly.
2.4.2 Backscattering Coupling
Backscatter coupling, also called far-field coupling, uses the electro-magnetic field between the
reader and the tag (see figure 2.11 [3]). The reader sends out an electromagnetic wave that travels
outward away from the reader antenna into the direction of the antenna of the tag. If such an
electromagnetic wave encouters an object (with a dimension of half the wavelength) it will be
reflected. Objects that are in resonance with this wave have a large reflection cross-section.
Figure 2.11: Backscattering Coupling
The power of this electromagnetic field can be used to power or activate the tag after rectification
by diodes. The tag antennas are designed to resonate with the carrier signal emitted by the reader.
To transmit data from the tag to the reader, the resonant properties of the tag antenna will change.
This way a pattern is created that will be detected by the reader as data [10] [3].
2.4.3 Anti-collision
Anti-collision systems are protocols who make sure there will not be interferences or collisions
when more than 1 tag is communicating at the same reader at the same time. There are 3 protocols

2.5. APPLICATIONS & PROBLEMS 14
developed which separates the individual signals from one another [10].
• Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA): This technique is based on the reuse of certain
resources in spatially separated areas.
• Frequency Domain Multiple Access (FDMA): In this technique are several transmission
channels on various carrier frequencies simultaneously available to the participants.
• Time Domain Multiple Access (TDMA): Here is the entire available channel capacity chrono-
logically divided between the many participants. In RFID is this the largest group of anti-
collision techniques.
One of the simplest multi-access procedures is the ALOHA procedure which is a TDMA proce-
dure. Its name comes from ALOHANET, which was a radio network for data transmission in
Hawaii back in 1970, where this procedure was developed for. The main concept of this procedure
is that as soon a data packet is available it will be sent form the tag to the reader.
2.5 Applications & Problems
2.5.1 Applications
There are many applications of RFID. Very popular is the building access system. Only people
who are permitted can go into restricted areas. The RFID badge contains an unique number, when
this number is read by the reader it will send this information to the computer system. There it
checks if the number has access to that room or not.
Another example of RFID is tracking animals. The animals have an RFID chip implanted with
information about themselves. This RFID-system works mostly at low frequencies.
In the car industry [11] RFID technology is widely used in the transport, the assembly line, logis-
tics, . . . .
Stores are also implementing RFID. These tags are attached to the products. At the checkout the
products can be read at once, the customers will not have to wait anymore. It takes the place of
the barcodes. High and ultra high frequencies are the frequencies that will be used in the stores.
Another implementation of RFID in stores is to prevent theft, the tag is a small chipless passive
antenna placed upon products.
2.5.2 Problems
One of the problems of RFID is the reduced privacy. If everything has an RFID chip, someone
with the right reader frequency could read all the information e.g. bank account data, badges,

2.5. APPLICATIONS & PROBLEMS 15
even the information of the RFID chip under the peoples skin [12]. There already consists shields
to protect the information on the tag, for example covers for smart cards, these covers are made
of a signal absorbent material, e.g. RAM, it is a radar absorbent material that is also used for
stealth planes. There is still research going on to use the best material, at this moment there is a
discussion over aluminum. One side claims aluminum stops the signal completely, the other side
claims aluminum only disturbs the signal [13].
A technical problem is the presence of many different standards. It isn’t easy to develop a specific
standard when there are so many different frequencies involved. RFID is also still in development,
this way companies who develop new research will keep the information secret. As for printable
electronics there are still no standards and very little information available.

Screen printing technique
3
3.1 Introduction
Screen printing or serigraphy is a way of printing ink through a screen on a substrate. It’s possible
to use many different substrates e.g. textiles, wood, paper, plastic, glass, etc [14]. The screen
printing technique used nowadays, was developed in England in 1907 by Samual Simon [15].
The production process consists of 4 important parts: ink, a screen made of porous and non-porous
sections, a substrate and the sgueegee which squeezes the ink through the screen openings. After
printing, depending on the used ink, the ink can dry in the air, in an oven, with crosslinking, by
microwaves, . . . .
3.2 Inks
Conductive and dielectric inks are been used for RFID applications. They are composed of 3 main
components: polymer binder, solvent and conductive material (metal particles) for the conductive
ink (or dielectric material for dielectric inks) and several additives to promote the flow of the ink,
to improve the adhesion between the substrate and the ink, etc.
• The polymer binder keeps all the small particles together, makes sure that the metal will not
oxidize and the conductive material is good mixed and sticks to the substrate. The binder
16
3.2. INKS 17
isn’t made of conductive material, but it makes sure the conductive particles are well placed
so a conductive path can always been made.
• The solvent is responsible for a liquid and mixed ink. During curing, the solvent will evap-
orate. Although the solvent is an important part of an ink, there are inks without it, for
example ultra violet (UV) curing inks with cross-linking polymer. These inks won’t dry by
evaporation of the solvent, but by a chemical curing reaction initiated by UV-radiation. The
components of these UV inks which are prior to curing, are an oligomer (a binder which is
highly viscous), a monomer (it reacts with the binder during curing), an UV-sensitive com-
ponent and pigments and additives [16]. These inks are well held together because of the
cross-linking process, this process bonds many polymer chains with eachother, an advantage
is that these structures are difficult to break.
• The conductive material can consists of silver spheres, carbon-graphite particles, silver
flakes-carbon particles, copper particles or a dispersion of monomers (PEDOT:PSS). An
example of dielectric material is Barium titanate (BaT iO3 ). Silver is the best material, it
has a good conductivity, the smallest resistance but it is one of the most expensive materials.
Carbon has a lower conductivity and a bigger resistance but a lower price. Depending of
what purpose the ink will be used for, the best combination will be chosen. The conduc-
tive particles have a size of 0,5-0,8 microns in diameter [17]. The more particles are added
the better the conductivity will be, although the price will increase correspondingly and the
flexibility will decrease.
When making the ink, it is important to slowly mingle the different components so all the ink
particles will be mixed over the substance. The best way of preserving the ink is on rolling bars.
This way the ink will be constantly mingled. Before using the ink it is best to stir the ink to make
sure the particles, binder and solvent are well mixed together.
An important part of screen printing with conductive ink is making the ink as conductive as pos-
sible. Printed ink will be generally less conductive then pure metal ones. There are 4 ways of
improving the conductivity. Every way has its own (dis)advantages.
• Thicker ink layers have a bigger volume with more ink particles. There are more electrons
moving through this layer, what will increase the conductivity. The big disadvantage is that
the price of the antenna will increase correspondingly if more ink is used.
• Increase temperature of the curing part. To obtain the most optimal conductivity it is neces-
sary to use the right temperature for all inks. Every ink has its own ultimate point when the
solvent is evaporated and the binder isn’t broken yet. With this temperature the resistance
will be at its lowest point. It isn’t always possible to change the temperature for every ink,
therefore mostly with commercial printing an average temperature will be used.

3.3. SCREENS 18
• Electroplating uses electrical current to coat a conductive object (e.g. an RFID antenna)
that is immersed in a solution containing a metal salt, with a thin layer of metal. A negative
charge will be connected to the conductive object. This will be exposed to a solution of metal
salt, whereby the positive charged metal ions of the solution will attach to the conductive
object where it forms a metal coat. Disadvantages are the investment in equipment and
materials and it slows down the production process [1].
• There are many different printing techniques with their own advantages and disadvantages.
The conductivity can be improved by choosing the right technique for every usage, for exam-
ple there are printing techniques that have a lower conductivity but have a high throughput
which is useful for applications that don’t need to be very conductive. One of the disadvan-
tages of printing small conductors is the skin effect (see section 4.3.2).
3.3 Screens
The screen consists of 2 parts, a frame and a fabric (see figure 3.1 [18]. The frame can be made
from wood (cedar or pine) or from metal (aluminum or steel). Between this frame a porous fabric
with non-porous parts is streched. This fabric is made of a mesh of multiple threads which are
monofilament or multifilament woven [19]. Monofilament are single strands (see figure 3.2a [19])
and multifilament are multiple strands wound together(see figure 3.2b [19]).
Figure 3.1: Example of a screen, they are available in different sizes.
(a) Monofilament. It is mainly used (b) Multifilament. It is mainly used

in commercial printing. in textile printing
Figure 3.2: Pictures of screen fabric
The monofilament fabrics are commonly used in screen printing. They are accurate, easy to clean

3.4. RFID PRINT TECHNIQUES 19
and are less likely to clog than multifilament fabrics. These are mostly used in the textile industry,
the threads are more coarse therefore they can’t be used for very accurate applications.
The fabric types were originally made from silk, nowadays there are more inexpensive alternatives
in use such as polyester, nylon or metal. Silk is a multifilament thread that nowadays primarly is
used for printing art. It is too expensive and it loses toughness with frequent use. Polyester is
a good replacement for silk, it occurs as multi- or monofilament. In commercial screen printing
polyester is mainly used because it is strong and stable while streched. Nylon occurs also in both
filaments, it has a lower stability as polyester but it is less rigid [19]. A metal mesh has a high
stability and is very stable.
The properties of a screen fabric depends on the thread size, the open area in the mesh and the mesh
openings. The thread size and the quantity of the threads in a mesh determines the fineness of the
printing. More threads results in smaller mesh openings and finer printing. However, if the mesh
openings are too small, the ink particles will have difficulties getting through the fabric [19] [18].
The value of the mesh openings is also important when considering which ink to choose, because
the particles of the ink must be small enough to get through.
To create the screen there is a thin layer of positive photosensitive emulsion spread all over the
fabric. When this emulsion is dry, the design on a transparent surface is placed against the screen
and exposed to light. The design that must become an open area must be printed in black on the
transparant surface, this way the light will be blocked and the emulsion will not bond with the
screen (because it’s a positive photosensitive emulsion). The rest will be impenetrable because the
light lets the emulsion bond with the screen [18].
There are many different sizes of screens. These are expressed in the amount of threads per cm and
the thickness of the thread in µm, e.g. 180 - 32 means 180 threads per cm and a thread thickness
of 32 µm.
The theoretical layer thickness is defined by the openings in the mesh and by the diameter of the
threads. If the diameter is very small, the filled opening will be larger but the height will descrease.
If the thread has a larger diameter, the filled opening will decrease but the height will increase (see
figure 3.3 on the following page [20]).
The practical layer thickness will be a bit smaller than the theoretical one, because the ink will be
spread out under the threads (roughly to the half of the thread).
3.4 RFID Print techniques
3.4.1 Introduction
There are several printing techniques. The choice of which technique will be used is mostly
determined by the properties of the applications, the speed at which must be printed and economic

(a) Small mesh diameter.
(b) Large mesh diameter.
Figure 3.3: Theoretical layer thickness

considerations. There are 2 kinds of printing methods, the industrials method, e.g. screen printing
and inkjet printing, and the mass-printed methods (e.g. flexographic, gravure and offset.
3.4.2 Screen printing
The basic principle of screen printing (see figure 3.4a) is pushing the ink at the screen through
the mesh openings on the substrate with a squeegee (see figure 3.4b [18]). There must be a small
space between the screen and the substrate to release the ink if the surface tension the substrate is
better than that of the screen.
(a) Screen printing technique (Image: Harry (b) Squeegee

Wad)
Figure 3.4: Screen printing
The pressure that is applied at the squeegee, while moving over the screen, hasn’t got a large
influence on the printing. The stiffness of the squeegee on the other hand, does have an influence
on the printing, a softer squeegee makes thicker and less secure ink layers in contrast with a stiffer
squeegee, which has a very accurate and precise ink image.
To start the screen printing there must be placed a clean substrate under the screen. Hereafter ink is
placed before the image, when the machine starts the squeegee pushes the ink over the image and
at the same time presses the ink through the mesh openings. Afterwards the ink is scraped back to
the start by the floodbar, this way the ink can be used for another substrate. It is important to use
enough ink, otherwise there will be holes in the inkpattern on the substrates. After this printstep,
the substrates must be cured in an oven to become conductive or dielectric(see section 3.2).
3.4.3 Inkjet printers
Inkjet printers for conductive and dielectric inks uses piezoelectric inkjet printheads. These piez-
electric crystals change shape and size because of an electric current, hereby forces tiny droplets
of ink onto the substrate. Many different substrates can be used with this type of printing.
The best inks to use with this method are low-viscosity inks because an inkjet printer places very
small droplets of ink onto a substrate, with high-viscosity ink and ink with large particles there
could arise problems with clogging. The biggest disadvantage of this method is the possibility of
sweeps and short circuits, it is also not a method to print in mass-production.

3.4.4 Flexographic
Flexographic is a mass-production technique which is based on flexible relief plates made of flex-
ible rubber or photopolymer. The most used inks in flexographic are solvent-based inks, water-
based inks and UV curing inks, because they dry fast which is necessary for printing packaging
materials.
Flexographic printing consists of 4 steps: image preparation, platemaking, printing and finishing.
The process of printing happens via 4 rollers (see figure 3.5 [19]), the ink roller or fountain roll,
the meter roller or anilox roll, the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder.
The ink roller transfers the ink from the ink pan to the anilox roll, this roller passes the ink with a
uniform thickness onto the plate cylinder. Between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder
moves the substrate, the impression cylinder applies a pressure onto the plate cylinder, this way
the image will be printed on the substrate. Hereafter the substrate will go into the dryer [19].
Figure 3.5: Flexographic
3.4.5 Offset lithography
Offset litography is one of the mass-producting methods, it is mainly used by companies who
makes magazines. The basic principle of offset lithography is placing the images on a plate,
putting the plate in the ink and than transferred the ink pattern to rubber and to paper. It is called
offset printing because the original plate with the image doesn’t come in contact with the paper.
First make negatives of the original image print, this negatives will be used to make a printplate.
The plate is covered with a lightsensitive emulsion, the negative will be placed on this plate. After
light exposure the plate will develop and the emulsion stays at places where the light could come
through [21].
When the plate is ready, the printing can start. First the board will be dampen with water, this
way if there is ink at this place it can easily washed away (based on the principle that water and
ink won’t mix). The plate is attached to the cilinders, while rotating the ink, the image will be
transferred to a rubber and than to paper (see figure 3.6 on the following page [22]).

Figure 3.6: Offset Lithography
3.4.6 Gravure
Gravure is the fastest way of accurate printing of quality and consistency. It is a mass production
process mainly used for high-speed production of large surface prints, for example magazines,
wallpaper, newspapers, etc.
The principle is based on the intaglio printing technique, the image that must be printed is made up
of depressions that are cut into the printing plate. These printing plates (mainly of copper) can be
made by digital engraving or laser etching. As can be seen in figure 3.7 [19], the printing plate or
gravure cylinder rolls through an ink fountain where the depressions are filled with ink. Hereafter
the excess of the ink is scraped off by a doctorblade, the substrate between the gravure cylinder
and the impression roll is pressed upon the gravure cylinder and the ink in the depressions will be
printed on the substrate.
Figure 3.7: Rotorgravure print unit.

Experimental work
4
4.1 Introduction
After the literature study, the next step is starting the analysis of the research question. This would
be researching the possibility of printing RFID tag antennas with conductive ink at 13,56MHz on
different substrates. This research consists of several steps as mentioned before (see section 1.2).
The first step is the characterization of silver inks. This way the optimal temperature to dry the
ink for the best conductivity can be determined. The second step is defining the width of the line
of the antenna. Hereafter, a decision must be made on the best usable ink (which has a good
balance between price, conductivity and result). Then some measurements must be taken on a
printed antenna, to find the right conjunction between the value of the capacitor and the antenna.
Optionally these measurements can be repeated with different substrates.
4.2 Characterization of the inks
4.2.1 Introduction
As said before, there will be determined at what temperature the ink should be dried in the oven.
When this temperature is known and used, it improves the conductivity of the antenna. Otherwise,
there are 2 possibilities. First, if the temperature is chosen too high, the binder will break and
the ink will not adhere on:p the substrate. Second, if the temperature is chosen too low the ink
24
4.2. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE INKS 25
will partly dry, but the conductivity declines. Ideally, the best temperature is after the solvent is
evaporated and before the binder will break.
The characterization is important to optimize the conductivity of the ink. However the results
have a rather academic importance than a commercial one. When the antennas will be printed
for production, they use commercial ovens where the temperature can be varied for every ink, but
this is usely not done. It takes time and that would be too expensive. However when the right
temperature is known, the inks of the same range can be put together what would be cheaper than
change the temperature for every ink.
At the start of the research there were 2 inks to begin with, a silver ink of Rogers and a silver ink
of Dupont (5064). Later, during the course of the research, the silver ink of Rogers was switched
with a carbon ink of Dupont (7102).
4.2.2 Test lab
The test lab can be divided in 3 parts (see figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1: Test preparation
A This is the oven, the substrate will be placed into the clips (see figure 4.2 on the next page)
covered with a bit of the ink that must be characterized. After closing the oven the tem-
perature will increase and the results of the changed temperature will be showed on the

computerscreen (part C).
B There are 5 important measurement devices which are connected with A and C:
1. Keithley 2400 voltagesource, it delivers the requested voltage.

2. Hewlett Packard 3458A Multimeter measures the temperature/resistance.
3. Hewlett Packard 3458A Multimeter represents the current.
4. The switch sends the voltage alternately through the two wires.
5. There is a power supply SMX 7220.
C This is the computer with the software for this measurement. It is written in Labview. Fig-
ure 4.3 on the following page shows where the measurement profile can be chosen. The
computer is connected with the rest of the equipement by a DAQ-card and a GPIB.
Figure 4.2: Clips where the glass substrate would be connected with the equipement
4.2.3 Working principle
Before these measurements can start, some substrates must be made. The first kind of substrates
were small plain glass plates (dimensions 12 - 10 mm (thickness 1mm)). A small line can be cut
in the glass with a diamond pen. It’s possible to break it precisely at that place. Hereafter the glass
has to be cleaned (see appendix A for a detailed description). To create the needed pattern on the
substrate a metal mask (see figure 4.4 on the next page) is used. In the glovebox metal (aluminum)
will be thermally evaporated in vacuum on the substrate through the mask. To finish this step clean
the substrates again to remove particles of dust and aluminum.
Before using the substrates it is best to clean them, just 10 minutes in hot isopropanol is enough.
After cleaning and airdrying the substrate is placed on a glass plate (with the metal pattern up)
and fixated with plastic tape (see figure 4.5 on the following page). A little drop of ink is placed
between the contacts of the substrate. To cover the contacts equally with ink the little drop will be
surface-coated with a plate of glass, which is called doctorblading or tape-casting. An even layer
is necessary to avoid cracks in the ink.

Figure 4.3: Measurement profile in labview
Figure 4.4: Metal contacts of the mask
Figure 4.5: Tape-casting

When the ink is put between the contacts, the substrate is ready to be placed between the clips of
the oven. The first problems shows up in this step. The clips are a bit too small for these substrates,
thereby the metal is scraped off the glass and there is no connection possible. The second problem
is a bad contact between the clips and there where the voltage comes through (see figure 4.6).
Figure 4.6: Connection clips with the rest of the equipement
The first problem was tried to be solved by making the clip openings a bit larger with a met-
alpolisher. Still this solution wasn’t enough, the metal was still scraped off. Another solution
was changing the substrate. Instead of thermally evaporating a metal layer on the glass (which is
brittle), it would be illuminated using lithograpy. This time there won’t be used plain glass plates,
but Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) glass. This is glass with a coat of fluorine doped tin oxide
which is a conductive layer. They have to be cut the same way as described before, but this glass
breaks not so easy. Instead they have to be be polished until they have the right dimensions (12 -
10 mm (thickness 1mm)). The reason why it doesn’t breaks so easy, is because it is made of boro
aluminium silicate glass.
The lithography process (see appendix B for a more detailed description of the several steps)
consists of 3 steps: the substrates have to be spincoated, developed and etched. Hereafter they
have to be cleaned and stored in a dark place. This process takes a little longer but the problem of
the metal that is scraped off doesn’t exist anymore.
These measurements took a long time and after a few measurements, there was decided to start
with the following steps.
4.2.4 Results
When the measurement is done, the temperature, the voltage (the one that was applied) and the
current are known. To determine the resistance of the substrate the ohmic current (Iohm ) must be
determined. The test setup will not standard deliver this value, it gives the current caused by the
applied voltage and the residual current (Ires ) which isn’t generated by the voltage source [23].
By applying changing voltage (with the switch) a positive and negative current can be measured.

With equations 4.1 and 4.2 the (Ires ) and the (Iohm ) can be calculated.
I+ + I−
Ires = (4.1)
2
I+ − I−
Iohm = (4.2)
2
Important is : Ires < Iohm .
Theoretical Ires should be zero, because ideal the absolute values of Ires and Iohm should be equal
and the sign would be opposite. In practices Ires isn’t zero because of measurements flows. When
determing the logarithmic values of Ires (logIres ) and Iohm (logIohm ) these values can be plotted
in a graph. A logarithmic scale is mostly used because it can represents relative changes of the
values.
In a good measurement log(Ires ) and log(Iohm ) are parallel of eachother. When the temperature
is so high that the binder will break, these 2 values lower in value (see figure 4.7).
Figure 4.7: log(Ires ) and log(Iohm ) together with the temperature profile.

4.3. DETERMINING THE LINE WIDTH OF THE ANTENNA 30
4.3 Determining the line width of the antenna
4.3.1 Introduction
It is important to choose the line width of the coil wisely. This choice will effect the size of the
surface of the antenna. The consideration here is the price versus the signal strength. The larger
the size of the antenna, the stronger the signal and the larger its range, but also the more expensive
the antenna shall become.
Seven different widths are measured with a network analyzer: 0,5mm, 1mm, 1,5mm, 2mm,
2,5mm, 3mm, 3,5mm (see figure 4.8 ). These range of values is based on practical considera-
tions. Widths smaller than 0,5mm are difficult to realize in a screen. When widths are bigger
than 3,5mm the size of the surface will be too large and the amount of coils too low. The length
of these lines is 10cm. The network analyzer uses 4 possible measurements to measure the line
widths: logmag, delay, smithchart and phase (see section 4.3.4). Each measurement type has its
own properties.
Figure 4.8: The 7 line widths.
4.3.2 Skin effect
Skin effect is an important phenomenon by conductors. It makes the resistance of the conductor
increase correspondingly to the frequency of the current. The resistance starts from the center of
the conductor and is systematically broadened to the sidewand. This way the current has to flow
along the sidewands. The depth that the current can flow is called the skin depth. The higher the
frequency the smaller the skin depth.
The skin depth δ can be calculated with formula 4.3, it depends on the used frequency, the mag-
netic permeability µ and the electrical conductivity σ of the used material [4] [24].
r r
1 1
δ= = (4.3)
π·µ·σ·f π · µ0 · µ r · σ · f

H
µ = Magnetic permeability ( m )
µ0 = Permeability of air = 4 · π · 10−7 ( m
H
)
µr = Relative permeability
S
σ = Electrical conductivity ( m )
f = Frequency (Hz)
Knowing this formula the skin depth of various conductive materials can be calculated. For this
research it is interesting to know the value of the skin depth for pure silver and copper at 13,56MHz
as comparisation. It will only indicates what the skin depth will be because in the ink are also other
substances.
The skin depth of silver δsilver and copper δcopper can be calculated with 4.3, all the variables are
known.
Silver
• Frequency: fsilver = 13,56MHz
S
• Electrical conductivity: σsilver = 63 · 106 m
• Magnetic permeability:
µsilver = µ0 · µr
= 4 · π · 10−7 · 0, 99998
H
= 1, 26 · 10−6
m
These variables can be filled in equation 4.3:
r r
1 1
δsilver = = = 17, 22µm (4.4)
π · µsilver · σ · f π · 1, 26 · 10−6 · 63 · 106 · 13, 56 · 106
The same can be done for copper.
Copper
• Frequency: fCopper = 13,56MHz
S
• Electrical conductivity: σCopper = 59, 6 · 106 m

• Magnetic permeability:
µcopper = µ0 · µr
= 4 · π · 10−7 · 0, 999991
H
= 1, 26 · 10−6
m
These variables can be filled in equation 4.3:
s r
1 1
δcopper = = = 17, 71µm
π · µcopper · σ · f π · 1, 26 · 10−6 · 59, 6 · 106 · 13, 56 · 106
(4.5)
As can be seen in equation 4.4 and 4.5, the skin depth of respective silver and copper don’t differ
much from eachother. δcopper is a bit larger than δsilver , this means that at the same frequency in
copper is more place for the electrons to flow, in silver the resistance is larger.
If the skin effect is low, this is when the skin depth is high, the Q-factor will increase. A high
Q-factor means a high current through the antenna coil, which improves the power transmission
to the transponder (see section 4.4.4 for more details over the Q-factor).
The skin effect can be decreased by using hole pipe conductors, it will also reduce the price of the
conductor.
The skin effect can become a problem in these lines. If the skin effect is large, the skin depth will
be small, which means the current will flow on the outside of the line. In our design is the sidewall
not straight, there are bulges as can be seen in figure 4.10 on the following page. The current has
to travel a larger distance so the delay will be higher than if there is no skin effect.
Figure 4.9: Skin Effect lines

4.3.3 Test lab
To start these measurements, a box is designed and manufactured to protect the substrate with the
line from electrical fieldlines. This box (see figure 4.10) is completely made of metal (Aluminum)
and consists of two parts, a part where the substrate can be placed on and a cover with 2 SubMinia-
ture version A (SMA) female connectors. When a substrate with a certain line width is placed in
the box, the cover with the 2 connectors will be placed upon it. The network analyzer can send its
signal through these connectors to the line and the results will be shown in a graph.
Figure 4.10: Metal Box
To get correct values with the network analyzer it must first be calibrated by using an Electronic
Calibration, ECal, (see figure 4.11 on the following page). It needs 30 minutes to warm up but the
calibration itself is done by less than a minute. In earlier times there wasn’t equipment like the
ECal and the calibration must be done by hand. It was a very precise method but it took a long
time to complete. Often it had to be repeated because of a human fault.
4.3.4 Network analyzer
The used network analyzer is a Network Analyzer ENA Series E5071B 300KHz-8,5GHz. It is a
Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) which can measure both amplitude and phase properties.
The basic concept of a network analysis is a signal that can be reflected, absorbed or transmitted
traveling along the transmission lines [25].
The network analyzer uses scattering or S-parameters as measure method. They are defined in

Figure 4.11: Electronic Calibration N4431-60003 (300kHz- 9GHz)
terms of voltage traveling waves, which are easy to measure [25]. The amount of S-parameters
are depending on the number of ports (N ports means N 2 S-parameters). If the measurement uses
2-ports than there are 4 S-parameters, S11, S21, S12, S22.
The first of the two numbers indicates where the signal comes out, the other one where the signal
is applied.
S11 or S22 are reflection measurements, they have the same input and output. In S21, a signal is
applied at port 1 and comes out at port 2. S12 is the reverse of S21 (see figure 4.12 [26]).
Figure 4.12: S-parameters
There are 4 measurement types on the network analyzer: LogMag, Delay, Phase and Smith chart.
• Logmag: It shows if the applied signal is absorbed or reflected. e.g. S11: it means the
network analyzer sends a signal to the output (in this case the reader antenna) and it looks if

there are reflections coming back. The graph shows whether the signal reflects or is absorbed
by the reader. e.g. S21: this means the network analyzer applies a signal via 1 and waits for
the return of this signal via 2.
• Group Delay: It measures the transmit time of the signal going through the substrate versus
the frequency. If there are any obstacles in the transmission line the velocity will become
lower.
• Phase: It measures the phase of the signal (linear, non-linear). If the phase isn’t linear there
is an abnormality in the transmission line.
• Smith chart: Signals will be shown using the reflection coefficient and the impedance with
their real and imaginair parts. Left on the circle (see figure 4.13 [26]) there is a short circuit,
right on the circle there is an open end, in the middle 50 Ω. Attenuation can be measured
with this type of measurement.
Figure 4.13: Smith Chart
4.3.5 Substrates
The substrates being used are heat stabilized polyester films, they have a low residual shrinkage at
elevated temperatures [27]. The substrates Lumoza uses are Autostat CT3, CT5 and CT7. They
only differ in thickness, they are respective 75, 125 and 175 µm. These substrates had an adhesion
treatment using the industry standard. It improves the adhesion of UV curable dielectric inks[27].
During the measurements CT5 was used. There weren’t any tests with different substrates, this
can be done by future research.
4.3.6 Working principle
In this part 2 inks (Silver ink Rogers and Silver ink Dupont 5064) are being used so the results can
be compared. The first step is printing the lines with the screen printer (Isimat 1000p) at IMO (see

figure 4.14). Before printing the substrates must be cleaned with isopropanol.
Figure 4.14: Screen printer Isimat 1000p
The first printed substrate will not be used because of possible open spaces (widths) in the ink.
The screen must first be filled to have a good result. Figure 4.15a is an example of a first printed
substrate, figure 4.15b is the same spot but with the 6th printed sheet.
(a) Sheet 1: with open spaces. (b) Sheet 6: the same spot without
open spaces.
Figure 4.15: Difference between sheet 1 and sheet 6
After printing the lines, the substrates go in the oven (box furnace 30 - 650◦ C) for 10 minutes
at an temperature of 125◦ C. The next step is measuring them with the network analyzer. All the
measurements will be done between 300kHz and 200MHz.
4.3.7 Results
The silver ink of Dupont (5064) is better to use for RFID applications than the silver ink Rogers,
because it has a lower resistance (Dupont: 1,5Ω, Rogers: 2,6Ω).
• To start, LogMag S11 and S21 of line a (0,5mm) were measured. LogMag S22 and S12
were also measured but they are the same as respectively S11 and S21. There is a reflection
in figure 4.16a of -3,46dB which is the same for the whole measured frequency range. This

means approximately half of the signal will be reflected (if it was 0dB everything would
have come back). In figure 4.16b there is an attenuation of -18dB. The best would be if
there was an attenuation of 0dB (ideal case).
(a) S11: measuring of reflection (b) S21: measuring the loss of the signal
Figure 4.16: LogMag S11 and S21 (line a)
The delay S12 of line a was also measured (see figure 4.17). As can be seen, there is not
much delay and there is only a little variation, which means the ink is evenly divided over
the line.
Figure 4.17: S12: measuring of the velocity (line a)
• Line b (1mm) is the second line to be measured. To compare the data easily, LogMag S11
and S21 are also measured with line b. As can be seen in see figure 4.18a on the next page, at
low frequencies there is almost no reflection, at high frequencies there is a bit more reflection
but still less reflection than in line a (see figure 4.16a). At 13,56MHz (the frequency that
is interesting for this research) there is very little reflection. Figure 4.18b on the next page
shows that at low frequencies there is almost no attentuation, which we already knew of
4.18a on the following page.
The delay S21 of line b is measured (see figure 4.19 on the next page). It differs not much
of the delay of 4.17. There are a few smaller spikes, which means less variation in the delay
than in line a.
• Line g (3,5mm) is the last line to be measured. Here are also LogMag S11 and S21 measured

Figure 4.18: LogMag S11 and S21 (line b)
Figure 4.19: S21: measuring of the velocity (line b)

(see figure 4.20 on the next page). This line has the lowest reflection and attenuation rate of
all the lines.
Figure 4.20: LogMag S11 and S21 (line g)
The delay S21 of line g is measured (see figure 4.21 on the following page).
Figure 4.21: S21: measuring of the velocity (line g)
After studying the results, there can be concluded that line b (1mm) is the best width for the
antenna coil. Line a (0,5mm) has too much reflection, the main reason for this reflection is the
skin effect. This conductor is too small, it’s difficult for the current to come through.
Line g (3,5 mm) has the best reflection and attenuation rate, but the disadvantage is the surface of
an antenna coil of this width will be too large. When making an antenna it is desirable to have
many coils on a small surface, because a big tag antenna is more expensive to make and can’t be
placed on every product.
Line b has not much reflection, there is a small delay and not much attenuation and an antenna
design of 1mm is not to big.

4.4. DESIGNING & MEASURING OF THE ANTENNA PROTOTYPE 40
4.4 Designing & measuring of the antenna prototype
4.4.1 Introduction
The next step is designing an antenna prototype. First there must be considered what needs to
be printed. A passive antenna needs a coil with some turns, a dielectric and a capacity. The size
of the capacity and the number of coils will tune the antenna at 13,56MHz (as was explained in
section 2.3). When the capacity increases, the frequency will decrease and more antenna coils will
also lower the frequency. It is important to choose these values wisely.
It must be taken into account that in the future a chip will be attached to the antenna. This will
increase the capacity and decrease the frequency.
4.4.2 Design of the antenna
Figure 4.22 on the next page displays the design that will be used to start the measurements. It
is based on the results of section 4.3 combined with an existing model. The coil of the design
consists of 6 windings, which is in the range of a HF antenna (see section 2.3.2).
The width of the coil line is 1mm (see section 4.3.7) and the separation between the loops is
0,5mm.
The antenna, dielectric and capacity are drawed in Adobe Illustrator. This design will be send to
Artist Screen to make the screens. The dielectric must be big enough to cover a part of the coil
and one connection point. The capacitor has one plate connected with the antenna and one plate
printed on the dielectric, these 2 plates are connected through a small line.
Figure 4.22: Design RFID Antenna

4.4.3 Test Lab
The equipment to measure this antenna consists of a network analyzer (see figure 4.23a) and a
reader antenna (see figure 4.23b).
(a) Test lab measuring antenna (b) Reader antenna
Figure 4.23: Test lab Antenna
The reader antenna consists of 2 small circles. The current flows in every circle but in opposite
direction to cancel out the effect of the capacity that arises in every circle and the parasitic capaci-
ties. The antenna has a low Q-factor which means there is a low power transmission, therefore the
distance between the tag antenna and the reader antenna has to be very small.
The antenna will be placed on styrofoam (see figure 4.23a) which is 23 cm of the table and 3cm
from the middle of the reader antenna (see figure 4.23b).
4.4.4 Q-factor
The Quality-factor (Q-factor) gives more information over the power transmission. With a high
Q-factor there is a strong signal by a good power transmission. Conversely with a low Q-factor
the signal is very weak and the read distance between tag antenna and reader is very small. The
Q-factor is inversely proportional to the bandwidth B, this can be calculated with equation 4.6.
f0
B= (4.6)
Q
B = Bandwidth
f0 = Center or resonant frequency
Q = Quality factor
When the Q-factor is very high, the peak of the graph will be very small. This is desirable for a
reader antenna, small signals will be seen by the reader. For tag antennas is a high Q-factor not
desirable. When the peak is very small, the sidebands of the signal will be cut off. When the Q

factor is very low the peak will be very wide, the sidebands will be read, but many interference
will be received also. The best Q-factor for RFID antennas is somewhere in between (see figure
4.24 [10]).
Figure 4.24: 3 possible values of the Q-factor
4.4.5 Working principle & Results
There are 2 inks that could be used to print the antennas, a Dupont silver ink (5064) or a Dupont
carbon ink (7102). The properties that will be used to print the coils of the antenna are:
• Screen: 77-48 (threads per cm - µm)
• Print angle: 20◦
• Speed of the printing: 110 mm/s
• Temperature of the oven: 125◦ C
• Time to dry: 10 minutes
After printing the antennas of each ink, they are studied under the microscope. As can be seen in
figure 4.25a the antenna lines of the carbon ink aren’t very straight, while with the naked eye they
look straight.
This is a normal phenomenon with screenprinting. There will be some bulges of ink because the
squeegee presses the ink through the screen. The dimension of the bulges are depending of the
kind of ink. The silver ink (figure 4.25b) has smaller bulges than the carbon ink (figure 4.25a)

(a) Microscopic view of a carbon (b) Microscopic view of a silver an-

antenna tenna
Figure 4.25: Microscopic view of the same spot with 2 different inks.
because this ink has a lower viscosity than carbon ink which is thixotropic. This is a fluid that is
normally very thick but when it is stressed (e.g. shaken or stirred) it becomes less viscous.
Before printing the dielectric, it would be wise to measure at what frequency this antenna sends a
signal. Via the measurement setup described at subsection 4.4.3, there will be send a signal into
the ring reader. This reader sends a signal back to the network analyzer.
Ideally without an antenna nearby the ring the signal will not be absorbed and the graph at the
network analyzer would be a straight line. In practice around 200 MHz will a part of the signal be
absorbed without the presence of an antenna. The reader rings are tuned for measurements below
this value.
When the antenna of silver ink is nearby the reader there is a small peak in the graph at 110MHz
as can be seen in figure 4.26 on the following page. The antenna is always at the same distance
of the reader as explained in subsection 4.4.3. The signal isn’t very strong, only 1.01 dB. This is
because the Q-factor of this antenna is very low, there isn’t enough power transmission to have a
large distance between the reader and the tag antenna.
Figure 4.26: Silver antenna without dielectric or capacity
This frequency is higher than it should be (13,56MHz), but with a good capacity the frequency
should lower until 13,56MHz. If the antenna will be attached to a chip, it will give some extra
capacity. Would the frequency still be to high, than the antenna should have some more coils. The

best balance is no to much capacity and not to much coils, if the capacity is too high the Q-factor
will decline.
A remarkable fact is that the antenna with the silver ink gives a frequency of 110MHz and the
antenna of the carbon ink gives no frequency. After measuring the resistance of both antennas, it
was clear what the problem was with the carbon ink. This ink has a resistance of 120,7 kΩ, while
the resistance of the antenna with the silver ink is much lower (21.5Ω).
When the resistance of the coil is too high, it will absorb whole the signal. This way it is impossible
to send and receive a signal. The conclusion is that the carbon ink is not acceptable to use for
RFID-antennas.
The next step is printing the dielectric. There are 2 dielectric inks available, one is a standard
dielectric ink of Dupont (8153) and the other is a selfmade ink by Lumoza.
This dielectric covers the inner contact of the antenna almost completely (this contact is one side
of the capacitor) and also the coils between the 2 contacts to avoid short circuits when printing
the capacitor over the dielectric (figure 4.27a on the next page). Printing of the dielectric uses the
same adjustments as printing of the antenna.
The big problem of printable antennas is printing the capacitor on the dielectric (see figure 4.27b
on the following page).
(a) The self made RFID antennna with (b) The self made RFID antennna with
Dielectric Dielectric and capacity
Figure 4.27: Antenna design
This capacitor is necessary to tune the frequency of the antenna. First time, the capacitor was
printed with the same silver ink as the coil of the antenna. When holding this antenna near the
reader there was nothing to see on the network analyzer neither with the standard dielectric nor
with the selfmade dielectric.
The first possibility, the dielectric was too thin which can result in short circuits and voids in the
dielectric. To test this thought there was a second layer printed of the dielectric. Above this layer
there was also a silver ink capacitor printed. The result was sadly enough the same as before, there
was still a short circuit. Another possibility, the silver ink dissolves the dielectric probably before
it was evaporated in the oven, so there arises a short circuit.

To prove this idea there are 2 different ways. The first way was using aluminum foil as capacitor
(figure 4.28). This antenna gives a frequency much lower than 110MHz.
Figure 4.28: Antenna with aluminum foil as capacitor
In figure 4.29 is the frequency of this antenna 58,10MHz. This result proves that the dielectric is
sufficient.
Figure 4.29: Antenna with aluminum foil as capacitor (Graph)
The dielectric constant of the standard dielectric ink of Dupont (8153) is r = 35 [28], but the
dielectric constant of the selfmade dielectric ink isn’t known.
To see at what range this dielectric would be, there was a test with aluminum foil as capacitor and
as dielectric een small layer of teflon. This teflon layer has a thickness of 0.1 µm and an r of 2,2.
As can be seen in figure 4.30 the frequency of this antenna is 76,16 MHz, -4.45dB.
The frequency is 18,06MHz higher then the antenna in figure 4.29 on the preceding page. There
can be concluded that the unknown dielectric constant is higher than the r of 2.2 of teflon.
Another way to prove that the solvent of the silver ink of Dupont dissolves the dielectric is by
printing a capacitor with another ink (PEDOT:PSS, a transparent screen printing ink). This antenna
either didn’t show something on the network analyzer, this time is wasn’t because of a short circuit
but because the ink has a too high resistance. When measuring the resistance, it was very high
(3kΩ). Such a high resistance will absorb the signal.
To solve this problem there must be used another dielectric or otherwise another conductive ink.

Figure 4.30: Antenna with aluminum foil as capacitor and teflon as dielectric
In the search of the right value for the capacitor there were some tests with adjustable capacitors.
The problem here was making a good connection between the printed antenna and the capacitor.
First there was the idea to use a silver glue to have a conductive connection between the antenna
and the wire of the capacitor. This silver glue was also used in another antenna where it replaced
the printed capacitor. It could work if the glue wouldn’t absorb the silver ink.
Another idea was to connect 2 wires with the antenna by using a little bit of the silver ink, dry this
ink and use a little bit epoxy to strengthen the connection (see figure 4.31 on the next page).
Figure 4.31: Antenna with epoxy to fixate the wire connections
This method was a success, when the glue was dried this antenna was measured without a capacitor
and the frequency was lowered from 110MHz (figure 4.26 on page 43) to 93MHz (figure 4.32
on the next page). The wires and glue increased the capacity whereby the frequency descrease.
Hereafter an adjustable capacitor of 60 pF was connected with the wires (see figure 4.33a on
page 47), the frequency decreased to 15,15MHz. This value is very close to the wanted frequency
of 13,56MHz, it is a very good approximation, because when attaching a chip, the frequency
will also lower a bit. To test if the frequency could be lowered to 13,56MHz, another capacity
(82pF) was soldered at the wires (see figure 4.33b on the next page). The frequency fall back to
13,14MHz.
In figure 4.33b on the following page the signal is very low which means the Q-factor is also
extremely low. It can only be measured when the tag antenna is right before the reader.

Figure 4.32: Antenna with epoxy without a capacity gives a frequency of 93MHz
(a) Antenna with a capacity of 60pF has a frequency of (b) Antenna with a capacity of 82pF has a frequency
15,15MHz of 13,14MHz
Figure 4.33: Antenna with epoxy and 2 different capacitors

The Q-factor of these antennas can’t be calculated exact because the signal is too low. Nonethe-
less, an approximation can be made. This will be calculated on the antenna without a capacitor
(figure 4.32, because that is the strongest signal of these measurements. Measuring the Q-factor
will be done by using the 3dB rule.
First the signal peak has to be enlarged to make a virtual large signal. Secondly, 3dB must be
added by the peak value and following this virtual lines the corresponding frequency value (higher
and lower) must be remembered (figure 4.34 on the following page).
Figure 4.34: Antenna without capacity measuring the Q-factor
The values for this example are:
• Start frequency:fs = 93, 2M Hz
• Frequency lower than the start frequency: f1 = 90, 0M Hz
• Frequency higher than the start frequency:f2 = 98, 0M Hz
The Q-factor can be calculated with formula 4.7:
fs 93, 2
Q= = = 11, 56M Hz (4.7)
f2 − f1 98, 0 − 90, 0
This is just an approximation of the Q-factor. It is very low, but the advantage is the sidebands
with the information aren’t cut off.

Conclusion & Future work
5
In this document the characterization of printable RFID tag antennas have been researched. There
is much more study to fulfill, but at this moment there is an antenna coil that has a frequency of
110MHz. With a capacity of 60-80 pF the frequency decreases to 13,14-15,15MHz. It is possible
to lower the frequency of the antenna by inserting 1 or 2 more coils. This, however, depends of
the presence of a chip.
The silver ink of Dupont (5064) is a good conductive ink that works well for RFID, its resistance
isn’t too high. However there is a problem to print the capacitor on the dielectric of the antenna. A
solution would be using another dielectric or searching for another ink, one that isn’t too resistive
and one that wouldn’t dissolve the dielectric.
One of the future steps would be finding a good ink for the capacitor. After that tests can be done
on different substrates. Another step will be attaching a chip on the antenna. Then there must be
thought of ways to attach the chip on the antenna, etc.
49
A
Appendix
Cleaning substrates
There are 6 steps to follow for cleaning the substrates of glass.
• First clean the substrates with soap and a vinyl cloth (good rubbing), hereafter only touch
them with a pincette.
• Let them vibrate ultrasonic in a soapsolution for 30 minutes.
• Rinse the substrates with much demi-water.
• Let them vibrate again ultrasonic, but now in aceton for 10 minutes.
• Let them boil for 10 minutes in hot isopropanol.
• Dry them with pressed air until they are completely dry.
50
B
Appendix
Lithography
This process consists of 3 major steps, spincoating, developing and etching. Before starting with
the spincoating and after the etching the substrates must be cleaned (see A).
1. Spincoating (name device: Laurell WS-400-6NPP-LITE)
• Spin negative resist NR9 on the conductive side of the substrate at 3000RPM for 40s
(negative resist because the parts that aren’t be exposed to the light must be developed)
• Harden at 150◦ C on a hot plate for 60s
2. Developing (name device: MJB3 Karl Suss MA56M)
• The substrate illuminate with the mask for 90s

• Harden at 100◦ C on a hot plate for 60s
• Develop the substrates for 17s in RD6
• Rinse in water
• Dry with pressed air
3. Etching
• Substrates placed in plastic box with conductive side up

• Cover substrates with sieved zinc powder (flammable!)
• Submerge the covered substrates in a citric acid (2M) solution for 20 minutes
• Rinse with water
• Repeat previous steps
• Remove resist with aceton
51
Bibliography
[1] Mary Catherine O’Connor. Making inks for printable tags. Website, 2004. http://www.
rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1072/1/1/.
[2] K. V. Seshagiri Rao, Pavel V. Nikitin, and Sander F. Lam. Antenna design for UHF RFID
tags: a review and a practical application. IEEE, first edition, 2006.
[3] Mark Brown, Sam Patadia, and Sanjiv Dua. Mike Meyers Certification Passport Comptia
RFID certification. Mc Graw Hill, first edition, 2007.
[4] Daniel Dobkin. The RF in RFID: Passive UHF RFID in Practice. Elsevier, first edition,
2008.
[5] Dr. Jeremy Landt. Shrouds of time: The history of rfid. Article, 2001. AIM Publication.
[6] Daniel Hunt, Albert Puglia, and Mike Puglia. RFID, a guide to radio frequency identification.
Wiley and Sons, first edition, 2007.
[7] Office in Motion. Flexibele software voor facility management, collectieregistratie en rfid
toegangscontrole & beveiliging. Website. http://www.officeinmotion.nl.
[8] Jos van Kooij. Rfid kenniscentrum. Website. http://www.rfidkenniscentrum.nl.
[9] Pete Sorrells. Passive rfid basics. Article, 2002. Microchip Technology Inc.
[10] Klaus Finkenzeller. RFID Handbook fundamentals and applications in contactless smart
cards and identification. Wiley, second edition, 2003.
[11] Ford. Turck-rfid for industrial applications. Presentation.
[12] Technology.com. Problems with rfid. Website, 2009. http://www.technovelgy.

com/ct/Technology-Article.asp?ArtNum=20#Security.
[13] Sayed Ahson and Mohammad Ilyas. RFID Handbook: Applications, technology, security
and privacy. CRC press, second edition, 2008.
[14] Artist screen. Artist screen. Website. http://www.artistscreen.be.
[15] Miriam Zegrer and Dieter Wanczura. Silk screen printing. Website, 2004 (2009). http:
//www.artelino.com/articles/silkscreen-printing.asp.
[16] ESMA. Possible test methods - drying or curing of uv-inks. Article.
[17] Tekra Corporation. Conductive inks. Website, 2009. http://www.tekra.com/

content/products/conductive-inks.
52
BIBLIOGRAPHY 53
[18] Standard Screen. Standard screen. Website. http://www.standardscreen.com/.
[19] PNEAC. Screen materials and preparation overview. Website. http://www.pneac.

org/.
[20] Naokazu Mazaki. Screen printing plate. Paper, 1995.
[21] MJK Disc Productions. Mjk disc productions. Website. http://www.kopieer-cd.be.
[22] Mark Mine. How offset printing works. Website. http://computer.

howstuffworks.com.
[23] Jean Vittorio Manca. High temperature electrical behaviour and failure mechanisms of
glass-ceramic dielectrics in thick film multilayers. PhD thesis, Limburgs Universitair cen-
trum, 1994.
[24] Youbok Lee. Antenna circuit design for rfid applications. Article, 2003. Microchip Technol-
ogy Inc.
[25] Agilent. Network analyzer basics. Article, 2004. Agilent Technologies.
[26] Anritsu. Vector network analyzer primer. Article, 2009. Anritsu.
[27] Mac Dermid. Autostat: Product datasheet. Datasheet, 2007.
[28] Dupont. Dupont tm luxprint 8153. Datasheet, 2009.

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XIOS HOGESCHOOL LIMBURG

DEPARTEMENT TOEGEPASTE INGENIEURSWETENSCHAPPEN

Afstudeerwerk ingediend tot het behalen van het diploma van

Promotoren: prof. dr. W. De Ceuninck (Lumoza/IMO)

Academiejaar 2009 - 2010

Intern Mentor: dr. Ing. Jan Boutsen

University-College XIOS Limburg

Industrial Sciences: Electronics-ICT Engineering

Telephone: +32-11-370 777

This work was created in collaboration with Lumoza in Diepenbeek.

Versie 1.0 and compiled on April 30, 2010 with LATEX

Master thesis to obtain the degree of

A company that is interested in these areas is Lumoza. It is specialized in printable electronics

Abstract (Dutch) iii

List of Figures vii

2 Radio Frequency Identification 4

2.4 RFID tag-reader transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Screen printing technique 16

4.3.6 Working principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

5 Conclusion & Future work 49

2.1 RFID tag&reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3.1 Example of a screen, they are available in different sizes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

4.1 Test preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Auto-ID Auto identification

DAQ Data Aquisition

ECal Electronic Calibration

FDMA Frequency Domain Multiple Access

HDX Half Duplex

Iohm Ohmic current

PEDOT:PSS Poly(3,4 -ethylenedioxythiophene)poly(styrenesulfonate)

Q-factor Quality factor

RFID Radio Frequency IDentification

SEQ Sequential Systems

TDMA Time Domain Multiple Access

UHasselt University Hasselt

VHF Very High Frequency

Lumoza specializes in electroluminescent printable electronics e.g. luminous electronics in pack-

1.2 Research question

1.3 Potential problems

Vera Vingerhoets The characterization of printable electronics

Vera Vingerhoets The characterization of printable electronics

Figure 2.1: RFID tag&reader

Vera Vingerhoets The characterization of printable electronics

2.2 RFID tag

Figure 2.3: RFID tag Components

2.2.1 Active tag

Figure 2.4: Active Tag

Vera Vingerhoets The characterization of printable electronics

2.2.2 Semi-Passive tag

Figure 2.5: Semi-Passive Tag

2.2.3 Passive tag

Figure 2.6: Passive Tag

2.3 Frequency regions

Vera Vingerhoets The characterization of printable electronics

Figure 2.7: Radio Frequency Spectrum

Table 2.1: Examples of the different frequency ranges of the radiospectrum

Frequency band Frequency range Wavelength Application

• Low frequency ( 2.3.1)

• High frequency ( 2.3.2)

• Ultra High Frequency ( 2.3.3)

Vera Vingerhoets The characterization of printable electronics

f = Frequency of the wave (Hz)