On Chip Modulated Scattering Tag Operating at Millimetric Frequency Band

A miniaturized modulated scattering technique (MST) tag able to operate at millimetric frequency bands is proposed in this work. In particular, the proposed tag operates like an RFID tag, but thanks to the MST technique it does not require a radio frequency front end. The information is carried on by modulating an interrogating electromagnetic wave with a suitable change of load impedance of the tag antenna obtained by means of an electronic switch. With respect to standard RFID tags, characterized by limited operative range, MST tags can theoretically reach any distance up to kilometres. In this work, all the components of the MST tag are directly designed on-chip leading to a very compact design. In particular, the tag has been designed to operate at millimetric frequency bands up to 70 GHz. The preliminary experimental results are quite promising, and they demonstrated the capabilities and potentialities of this technique.