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A Tightly Integrated Multilayer Battery Antenna for RFID Epidermal Applications

Caccami, Maria Cristina, Hogan, Matteo P., Alfredsson, Maria, Marrocco, Gaetano, Batchelor, John C. (2017) A Tightly Integrated Multilayer Battery Antenna for RFID Epidermal Applications. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 66 (2). pp. 609-617. ISSN 0018-926X. E-ISSN 1558-2221. (doi:10.1109/TAP.2017.2780899) (KAR id:65470)

Abstract

For the acceptance 1 of biointegrated devices in daily life, radio systems must be developed, which are minimally invasive to the skin, and they must have ultralow-profile local power sources to support data-logging functionality without compromising shape conformability. This contribution proposes a tightly integrated multilayer battery-antenna system (65 × 23 mm2), that is, ultrathin (just 200 ?m), flexible, and lighter than 1 g, making it suitable for epidermal applications. The negative electrode (anode) current collector of the battery is a radio frequency identification tag antenna coated by a conductive polymer (Pedot:PSS) working as anode material. Since the battery is a dynamic device, subjected to discharging, the antenna design must include the variable dielectric properties of the conductive polymer which are here first characterized in the UHF band for real charge/discharge battery conditions. The communication performance of the prototype composite device is hence evaluated through the measurement of the realized gain of the tag antenna (?19.6 dBi at 870 MHz) when it is placed directly onto a volunteer’s forearm. The read range of 1.3–3 m is suitable for occasional data download from the epidermal data logger when the user comes close to a reader-equipped gate.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1109/TAP.2017.2780899
Projects: Foresight Fellowship in Manufacturing: Defining and Fabricating New Passive Bio-Sensing Wireless Tag Technologies
Uncontrolled keywords: Conductive polymer, integrated battery-antenna device, planar battery, radio frequency identification (RFID)technology, wearable antenna.
Subjects: Q Science > QD Chemistry
T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering > TK7800 Electronics > TK7871.6 Antennas and waveguides > TK7871.67.M53 Microwave antennas
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Engineering and Digital Arts
Funders: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (https://ror.org/0439y7842)
Depositing User: John Batchelor
Date Deposited: 15 Dec 2017 11:31 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 18:10 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/65470 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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