Fabrication and characterization of graphene antenna for low-cost and environmentally friendly RFID tags

Abstract

We present the fabrication and testing of graphene-based dipole antennas on cardboard which is a promising low-cost, recyclable, and flexible substrate for future wireless electronics. The article presents the details of the manufacturing, as well as results from the measurements and simulations. The measured sheet resistance of graphene antenna is 1.9 Ω/sq. Overall, a graphene-based planar dipole antenna with the length of 143 mm achieved the measured total efficiency of 40% and the realized gain of –2.18 dBi at 889 MHz. Moreover, a passive ultra-high-frequency radio-frequency tag based on a graphene dipole antenna on cardboard achieved the attainable read range of more than five meters at 950 MHz.