RFID Overview

Summary of RFID Sourcebook (Sandip Lahiri)

Frequency
LF
passive tags low data-transfer rate good in operating environment contains metal and liquids

HF
used in passive tags slow data-transfer rate fair performance in the presence of metals and liquids

Frequency
UHF: US 915 MHz, Europe 868 MHz (passive type) 315 MHz or 433 MHz (active type)
fast data-transfer rate performs poorly in the presence of metals and liquids, except in low UHF freq (315 MHz and 433 MHz)

Microwave: 2.45 GHz or 5.8 GHz

can be used in both active and passive tags has the smallest antenna size performs very poor in the presence of metals and liquids

Type of RFID Tag

Passive tag Active tag Semi-active tag SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) tag, consists of dipole antenna placed on a piezoelectric substrate and a series of well-placed individual electrodes acting as reflectors.

Passive tag
has no on-board power source uses the power emitted from the reader communication is initiated by RFID reader has a long life resistant to harsh environmental conditions contains microchip and antenna:
Microchip:
Rectifier : converts AC to DC Clock extractor : extracts clock signal Modulator : modulates received reader signal, embeds tag's response in the modulated signal and transmits back to the reader Logic unit : implements communication protocol Memory : storing data (tagged object ID, checksum)

Antenna:
Type: dipole, dual dipole (reduce alignment sensitivity), folded dipole Size is much larger than microchip

Active and semi-active tag

Active tag:
Reading distance can be 100 feet (30.5 meters) Type:
transmitter tag: continuously transmits data. The tag always communicates first. transponder tag (transmitter/receiver): transmit only when interrogated, enters a sleep or low-power state in the absence of a reader

Semi-active tag:
Reading distance can be 100 feet (30.5 meters) Has on-board power source to provide energy to the tag for its operation, but uses the reader's emitted power for transmitting its data

Communication type
Communication type (depending on the tag type): Modulated backscatter
applies to passive and semi-active tags the reader sends out a continuous wave (CW) RF signal containing AC power and clock signal at the carrier frequency through physical coupling, the tag antenna supplies power to the microchip the reader always talks first

Transmitter type
active type the tag broadcasts its message in regular intervals the tag always talks first

Transponder type
special type of active tags the tag goes to a sleep/dormant stage in the absence of interrogation from a reader: periodically scan for wakeup signal