Thickness variation study of RFID-based folded patch antennas for strain sensing

This paper explores folded patch antennas for the development of low-cost and wireless smart-skin sensors that monitor the strain in metallic structures. When the patch antenna is under strain/deformation, its resonance frequency varies accordingly. The variation can be easily interrogated and recorded by a wireless reader that also provides power for the antenna operation. The patch antenna adopts a specially selected substrate material with low dielectric constant, as well as an inexpensive off-the-shelf radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip for signal modulation. A thicker substrate increases RFID signal-to-noise ratio, but reduces the strain transfer efficiency. To experimentally study the effect of substrate thickness, two prototype folded patch antennas with different substrate thicknesses have been designed and manufactured. For both prototypes, tensile testing results show strong linearity between the interrogated resonance frequency and the strain experienced by the antenna. Longer interrogation range is achieved with the larger substrate thickness.