Planar, Lightweight, Circularly Polarized Crossed Dipole Antenna for Handheld UHF RFID Reader

A planar, lightweight, crossed dipole antenna with circularly polarized (CP) radiation is introduced for application in a radiofrequency identification handheld reader at ultrahigh frequency bands. The dipoles cross through a 90° phase-delay line of a vacant-quarter printed ring that enables broadband characteristic in terms of impedance matching and 3-dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidths. Four printed inductors are symmetrically inserted into the dipole arms whose ends are barbed to achieve a compact size. A sample antenna with a size of 60 × 60 × 0.508 mm and weight of 3.6 g is designed, fabricated, and measured. The proposed antenna yields an impedance bandwidth of 851–941 MHz for |S11| < −10 dB and a 3-dB AR bandwidth of 902–921 MHz. At 910 MHz, the antenna radiates bidirectional CP waves with a gain of 1.4 dBic and an AR of 1.1 dB. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:1874–1878, 2013