Printing of low-cost chipless RFID tags

Abstract

Chipless radio frequency identification (RFID) is a highly attractive and easy-to-operate technology allowing automated scanning of goods without any human intervention. It is a low-cost alternative to chip-based technology with few constraints. The flexibility to use low-cost printing techniques makes the chipless tags cost-effective to be useful as a competitive technology. In this paper, we review and compare the most common printing techniques for fabricating chipless RFID tags. Some of the issues encountered during printing of tags were identified and solutions to achieve better outcome were suggested. Most importantly, the advantages and limitations of the printing techniques were highlighted from a perspective of a vast amount of work done by various research teams worldwide. The review is an attempt to cover the basic aspects of conductive ink printing to fabricate functional chipless RFID tags. It is intended to guide researchers in tag printing using common printing techniques.