Current Progress towards the Integration of Thermocouple and Chipless RFID Technologies and the Sensing of a Dynamic Stimulus
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Current Need for Extreme Environment Compliant Printable DC Voltage Sensors
1.2. Challenges in Integrating Thermocouple and Chipless RFID Technologies
1.2.1. Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs)
1.2.2. Electrostatic Actuators
1.2.3. Ferroelectric Materials
1.2.4. Comparison of Possible Approaches
1.3. Effects of Dynamic Stimulii on Chipless RFID Interrogation
2. Methodology
2.1. Existing BST Varactors
2.2. Test Circuit Design
2.3. Sensor Fabrication
2.4. Circuit Testing
2.4.1. Temperature Testing and Environment Details
2.4.2. Exploration of Stimulus Gradients
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Large Voltage Biasing of Sensor
3.2. Thermocouple Biasing of Sensor
3.3. Results of Dynamic Stimulii
3.3.1. Exploration of Stimulus Gradient Effects
- Sampling rate (Hz).
- Frequency step size (Hz).
- Resonator bandwidth.
- Frequency sweep range.
- Frequency sweep direction.
- If the Ramp Direction opposes Sweep Direction:Result: Detection occurs. The minimum point on the curve marks the transition from the sampling of the Left-hand side of the resonant curve (LHS) to the Right-hand side (RHS).
- If the Ramp Direction does not oppose Sweep Direction:Scenario A: Ramp Rate>Sweep Rate or (Initial Ramp Value + Ramp Rate) > Sweep RateResult: Either no resonant response is detected during sweep as the stimulus magnitude has escaped the band or a setpoint-based resonant region is detected at the maximum stimulus level, if saturation occurs within the sensor system.Scenario B: Ramp Rate < Sweep RateResult: Detection occurs. The minimum point on the curve marks the transition from the sampling of the RHS of the resonant curve to the LHS.
- The resolution of all curves will define the accuracy by which the minimum of the curve(s) is measured.
- The resolution of both ramp and setpoint curves will define the accuracy of the inferred voltage at each timestep in the frequency sweep, as even with the addition of linear interpolation, errors will still exist.
- No linear or other form of interpolation was performed on the lookup of the true resonant point on the setpoint curve; thus, the accuracy is totally at the mercy of the setpoint curve resolution.
- Even with interpolation, the setpoint curve had a step size of 1.5 MHz which is quite significant. It is worth noting that the greatest errors induced by this factor will be around the results of the lookup at positions around the minimum value and this poor resolution also hampers the accurate detection of the minimum of the setpoint curve.
- All other sweeps performed consisted of only 100 points, which led to a resolution of 0.9 MHz/step.
- The voltage value that has been inferred is based on the accuracy of the linear relationship between resonant frequency and voltage, displayed in Figure 3.
3.3.2. Exploration of Sinusoidal Stimulus Effects
- The frequency sweep can only accurately determine the peak voltage towards the end of the frequency sweep as the bandwidth of the resonant region and that of the lookup function will not always be comparable with the change in resonant frequency caused by an amplitude of this size. A similar effect occurs at the beginning of the sweep with the minimum amplitude of the sinusoid.
- The frequency sweep and that used to generate the mapping function has a finite resolution.
- The spacing between successive points in a discrete setpoint resonant region for a fixed change in S21 magnitude vary nonlinearly in accordance with the nonlinear characteristics of the bandstop response curve.
- The portions of the S21 magnitude outside of the resonant region are not perfectly flat and may have gradients in the direction of this region. This would cause an invalid use of the lookup function at those frequency points.
- Small variations in ambient temperature may exist between this test and that used to develop the voltage-frequency lookup and the impedance behavior of the SIR circuit to a varying bias voltage may not be purely reactive.
4. Conclusions
4.1. Results of This Work
4.2. Future Goals
- How can the electrical sensitivity of this device be enhanced, and its thermal sensitivity lowered?
- What other methods exist that would allow possible successful thermocouple integration into chipless RFID?
- What are the effects of ionizing radiation and general aging on the performance of this device?
- Can a combination of materials such as BST, Polyimide, and a metallic conductor be deposited together into a composite sensor in a sequential fashion onto generic substrates in a timely fashion?
- How well can the dynamic stimulus extraction methodology above perform in a wireless test?
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Method | Merits | Shortcomings |
---|---|---|
LCP |
| |
Electrostatic Actuator |
|
|
BST |
|
Specifications |
---|
|
Temperature (°C) | Polynomial R2 Value |
---|---|
50 | 0.9713 |
77 | 0.9425 |
100 | 0.9846 |
135 | 0.9784 |
155 | 0.9895 |
180 | 0.9969 |
200 | 0.9948 |
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Mc Gee, K.; Anandarajah, P.; Collins, D. Current Progress towards the Integration of Thermocouple and Chipless RFID Technologies and the Sensing of a Dynamic Stimulus. Micromachines 2020, 11, 1019. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11111019
Mc Gee K, Anandarajah P, Collins D. Current Progress towards the Integration of Thermocouple and Chipless RFID Technologies and the Sensing of a Dynamic Stimulus. Micromachines. 2020; 11(11):1019. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11111019
Chicago/Turabian StyleMc Gee, Kevin, Prince Anandarajah, and David Collins. 2020. "Current Progress towards the Integration of Thermocouple and Chipless RFID Technologies and the Sensing of a Dynamic Stimulus" Micromachines 11, no. 11: 1019. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11111019
APA StyleMc Gee, K., Anandarajah, P., & Collins, D. (2020). Current Progress towards the Integration of Thermocouple and Chipless RFID Technologies and the Sensing of a Dynamic Stimulus. Micromachines, 11(11), 1019. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11111019