Patent ID: 8395484

Claim:
A tag, comprising: a dipole antenna that receives from an interrogator an interrogation signal via a first transmission medium having a first dielectric constant, said dipole antenna reflecting energy from said interrogation signal, said energy comprising backscatter energy and forward scatter energy; a retro reflector coupled to said dipole antenna for retro reflecting at least some of said forward scatter energy along with said back scatter energy as a return signal to said interrogator, said retro reflecting increasing the amount of reflected energy that is returned to said interrogator independent of the angle between said interrogator and said retro reflector, said return signal being modulated in accordance with a pattern that conveys information; a dielectric material coupled to said dipole antenna and said retro reflector to beam shape the retro reflected pattern, said dielectric material having a second dielectric constant that is different from the first dielectric constant, said dielectric material providing a second transmission medium adjacent to said first transmission medium for said return signal and said interrogation signal.