Sensors (Oct 2018)

Passive Harmonic RFID System for Buried Assets Localization

  • Abanob Abdelnour,
  • Antonio Lazaro,
  • Ramón Villarino,
  • Darine Kaddour,
  • Smail Tedjini,
  • David Girbau

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s18113635
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 11
p. 3635

Abstract

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A passive harmonic tag for buried assets localization is presented for utility localization. The tag design is based on a dual-polarized patch antenna at Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band. One of its feeders is connected to a frequency doubler based on a Schottky diode that generates the second harmonic, which is transmitted using a linear-polarized patch tuned at this frequency. The power received at the other feeder of the dual-polarized antenna is harvested by an RF to DC converter based on a five-stage voltage multiplier whose energy is used to bias a low-power quartz oscillator that modulates the output of the doubler. The different parts of the system are presented, and the theoretical read range is estimated as a function of the soil composition and the water content. A low-cost reader based on a software defined radio is also presented. Finally, experiments with a prototype of the tag are performed for different soil conditions.

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