STTR Phase I: Zero-Power Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Sensing Tags

This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I research project focuses on developing a smart sensor network integrated with Zero-Power Radio Frequency Identification Sensing Tags (RFID-ST) that combines the technology of a digital Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) switch and a reconfigurable RF antenna for a wide variety of distributed sensor applications. While micro sensor technologies appear very promising, unfortunately, most of sensors are energy hungry and the battery life of the sensor is very short. The cost and maintenance of a large number of remote and autonomous distributed sensors has become a major issue. The proposed reconfigurable RFID-ST requires no dedicated power source; rather, after selective detection of special agents of interest (e.g. explosive, chemical or biological agents, illegal drug etc.), this tiny, low cost sensor chip reports back the signal when it is interrogated periodically by a remote RF reader/transducer. The RFID-ST is a generic sensor platform, the resulting products which can be deployed virtually anywhere strategically, includes but not limited to, the safety of transportation, infrastructure, and detection and countermeasure to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The RFID-ST can be developed to identify explosive, industrial toxic gas, chemical and biological threat agents, illegal drugs, environmental pathogens, etc. Wireless remote sensing is an important area of technology development which can address a number of needs for commercial and private section applications that including identification of various toxic gas, biological threat agents, explosive, and environmental pathogens. Environmental and regulatory uses exist in the detection of chemical leaks, contaminants, and illegal storage of hazardous materials; and industrial users would be able to monitor chemical storage and processing systems.