Monza X Antenna Design Application Note

The Impinj Monza® X-2K Dura and Monza® X-8K Dura ICs are UHF Gen2 RFID tag chips featuring an I2C data interface in addition to the UHF RF link. This application note provides details of the Monza X RF interface. Concepts presented here include the following:

1. Antenna and air link principles unique to UHF RFID
2. Monza X RF port characteristics and equivalent models
3. Antenna options and antenna types suitable for use with Monza X
4. Impedance matching techniques

Impinj publishes a separate application note detailing the data interface, available here.:

This application note references and builds upon information documented in the Monza X Dura data sheets.

A set of example antennas is provided with this document in the form of a zip archive of DXF layout artwork. The attached zip contains the full antenna design application note and the following files, referred to in this document:

• MonzaX-slot1.DXF
• MonzaX-slot2.DXF
• MonzaX-loop1.DXF
• MonzaX-loop2.DXF
• MonzaX-monopole1.DXF
• MonzaX-monopole2.DXF

 Download Monza X Antenna Design Files

The layout files are intended to streamline the integration of Monza X into customer applications which call for an antenna on a circuit board. Monza customers are free to use these layouts, modify them as necessary, and integrate them into their pcb designs. All of the layouts have a layer called “ground” which shows keepouts or critical features in the immediate vicinity of the antenna. The outer boundaries of the ground polygon, away from the antenna, are non-critical and may be modified as desired. Each antenna presented in this app note has been physically constructed and measured. Performance data come from actual over-the-air measurements in the Impinj antenna chamber.

Also included here is the Monza X demo board schematic.

 Download Monza X Demo Board Schematic

NOTE: The schematic provided above is showing the Monza X-8K development board.  The Monza X-2K development board is the same PCB footprint as the Monza X-8K board. The only difference is it is populated with the Monza X-2K chip instead of the Monza X-8K chip.