Compact long-range ceramic RFID tag for on-metal and non-metal applications

Radio frequency identification (RFID) allows to perform a wireless communication with special tags, attached to the objects. Being sensitive to a surrounding environment, RFID tags are usually designed for specific applications. Here, we propose an RFID tag, accommodating three essential functions simultaneously, namely small footprint, long reading range, and a capability of on-metal labeling. Tag’s design is based on a compact dielectric resonator and an inductively coupled metal ring functionalized with an RFID chip. We demonstrate experimentally a $16.5 \times 16.5 \times 12$ footprint tag, which can be successfully interrogated from 22 m while being placed on a $40 \times 40$ metal sheet. Multifunctional miniature long-range ceramic tags can be extremely useful in numerous practical applications, including the Internet of Things and many others.