Smart two-dimensional material-based time modulated array for RFID applications

In this paper, we present an original way to combine two promising technologies: Time-Modulated Arrays (TMAs) and Two-Dimensional (2D) materials. The potentialities of time-modulated arrays are strongly enhanced by the exploitation of 2D-based radiators, in particular molybdenum disulphide (MoS2). The great ON/OFF ratio of MoS2 under the application of low bias voltages (up to 5 V in the case of monolayer material) would allow creating antenna arrays with switching properties, i.e. selecting just few of the array elements to radiate. This would represent a further degree of freedom in beam-forming for wireless engineering applications. The proposed 2D-TMA finds an application in high-frequency RFID technology combined with wireless sensor networks. Throughout the paper, we will show the benefits coming from merging TMAs and 2D materials technology; furthermore, we will provide some experimental results on multi-layer MoS2 characterization and a theoretical prediction of the link budget performance in a RFID link. Both simulation and material measurement results are encouraging, opening the path to further research in high-performance sensing networks that exploit the most innovative results in the domain of materials engineering