Development of Extra Low Mass Harmonic Radar Transponders

The current lightest available harmonic radar tags, with mass of a few milligrams, can only be carried by relatively large insects. However, small insects such as weevils and mosquitos are unable to sustain available tags. The former extensively infest food, and the latter kills nearly three million people and infects another 200 million or more every year. Two methods for reducing the tag’s mass and struggles of using these methods are presented here, followed by a review of the solutions. Retaining tag efficiency must be considered in every approach so as not to lose the detecting range because of impedance mismatch between the dipole and attached diode. These approaches include using a thinner wire and a short non-resonant dipole. The simulation was performed using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) software. Consequently, a wire tag lighter than 200-300 μg is expected, which has low mass for tracking smaller insects.