A Hybrid RFID/Localization Antenna with HIS and 3D-Printed Inclusions

The need for tracking and localizing items/people through energy autonomous devices suggests the combined exploitation of Ultra High frequency (UHF) to supply power and Ultra Wideband (UWB) signals for communication. This paper proposes the design and implementation of a versatile antenna to fulfil those requirements. The one-port spiral-dipolecombination achieves the insensitivity to the background scenario through the presence of a High Impedance Surface (HIS) able to simultaneously guarantee unique performance, still maintaining a low-profile stack-up: no back-radiation in the entire frequency range, circular polarization in the UWB band, and high efficiency in the UHF one. The use of 3D-printing reveals to be strategic for the robustness of the structure and for the adopted feeding mechanism