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Lesson 1 RFID Basics Welcome to your first free lesson in RFID basics.

If you know of someone who you think would like to take this course please send them the URL for SkyRFID http://www.SkyRFID.com rather than send this lesson as we are continuously updating this information based on your feedback. We hope by the end of lesson six, you will have a good basic understanding of RFID, its strengths and its weaknesses. Additional in depth On Site and Web technical courses are available from SkyRFID, please check our web site for further information. Now on to RFID! What is Radio Frequency Identification? Radio Frequency Identification is a technology that uses Radio Frequency waves to interrogate or read objects known as transponders or tags. Each tag always has a Unique Identification Number (UID) stored in bits in the tag memory that is transmitted to the reader when the Tag is Read. In addition to the UID there may be other information stored in the tag memory. The technology allows for reading of tags from physical contact to beyond the line of sight of the reader. A simple RFID system consists of a reader with a cable attached to an antenna and a tag that is read(interrogated) by the reader.

Radio Frequency (RF) Basic Terminology


Radio Frequency signals are a form of electromagnetic waveconsisting of the same radiation as light, ultra-violet, and infra-red rays. Radio Frequency waves/signals radiate outward from an antenna and have both an electric and a magnetic wave component. The frequency that a radio frequency identification (RFID) system operates is called a carrier wave or "carrier frequency". RFID systems operate on a number of frequencies. Some of the common RFID Frequencies are

125 kHz. Also known as Low Frequency (LF) 134.2 kHz. Also known as Low Frequency (LF) 13.56 MHz. or High Frequency (HF) 433 MHz. Ultra High Frequency 868 MHz. European Ultra High Frequency (UHF) 915 MHz. Ultra High Frequency (UHF) - North America and other countries 2.45 GHz. Microwave Frequency (SHF) 5.8 GHz. Microwave Frequency (SHF) 433 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz are active technologies with long range capabilities of between 50 meters and 500 meters or more. Due to the nature of these technologies we will not really discuss them in these courses.

belong to the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) radio bands which were originally reserved internationally for the use of RF energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than communication. The ISM bands typically do not require any licensing to operate in these bands. Note: some countries will not allow some ISM bands at all.
Many of these

Antennas are tuned to resonate only to a narrow range of carrier frequencies that are centred on the designated RFID system frequency. This means that a system with a carrier wave of 915 MHz.(centre of 902 ~ 928 MHz.) will not read a tag at 13.56 MHz., 125 kHz. Frequencies or 2.45 GHz. However it may be able to read an 868 MHz. tag if the tag is EPC Gen 2. More about this later. RFID systems use the decibel (dB) to describe antenna gain, cables losses and power output for all hardware specifications and regulations. There are different regulations for different frequencies in different countries that must be taken into consideration when designing, installing and maintaining an RFID system. The wrong power selection has serious legal and health implications! The Decibel is a ratio between two signal strength levels and is a 10thof a Bel. Bel is named after Alexander Graham Bell (hence the letter B is capitalized). Incidentally Bell invented the telephone as well as numerous other inventions. These calculations are "logarithmic scale measurements" so they use the logarithm of a physical quantity instead of the quantity itself! Bel

= log (P2/P1)

dB is also a logarithmic measurement and gives simple numbers for large-scale variations in signal strength. This is very useful as you can easily calculate the RFID system gain and losses by adding and subtracting whole numbers.

dB=10*log (P2/P1)

The dB unit allows big variations in signal strengths/levels to be handled with simple math.

Gain is positive and loss is negative.


A 3dB gain/loss is equal to a 2 times increase or decrease in signal level. So if a cable has a 3dB loss, it loses 50% of its signal strength by the time it gets to the other end of the cable. A 10 dB gain/loss is equal to a 10 times increase or decrease in signal level. If a cable has a 10dB loss, then it loses 90% of its signal strength by the time it gets to the other end of the cable. A 20dB gain/loss is equal to a 100 times increase or decrease in signal level. So if a cable has a 20dB loss, then it will lose 99% of its signal strength by the time it gets to the other end of the cable. The Radio Frequency POWER LEVEL is expressed in watts or in dBm. dBm refers to the power in decibel referenced to one milliwatt (1mW). The relation between dBm and watts is given by the formula:

P(dBm) = 10 x Log (P/1mW)

dBm 0 10 20 30 40

Watt 0.001 0.01 0.1 1.0 10.0 The value 30 dBm = 1.0 Watt should be remembered for future use.

P (dBi; references an isotropic radiator) = 1 - log (Pr/Pi), where Pi is power received from an isotropic antenna. P (dBd; references a dipole antenna) = 10 Log (Pr/Pd), where Pd is power received from a dipole antenna. Basic electromagnetic (EM) propagation modes are: Free space line of sight transmission satellite communications

Reflection most commonly used for land mobile communications

Refraction bending the EM waves when it passes through media such as water, plastic, and other materials that have different refractive indexes.

Diffraction bending the EM waves around an object. Attenuation is the reduction in amplitude and intensity of a signal. As the EM wave goes farther, is reflected, refracted or diffracted the signal strength drops dramatically. An Isotropic source radiates power equally in all directions laboratory and theory only just to assist you in understanding theory versus practicality. As the EM signal travels from the transmit antenna to the receiving antenna it loses strength. While the previous information may seem somewhat complicated, rest assured that it will become clearer and clearer in the next few lessons. Lesson 2 will apply the physics of lesson 1 to tags, readers and antenna.

Read this lesson at least once today, once again tomorrow and once again in 7 days and you will remember most of this for the rest of your life! See you tomorrow! Best Regards SkyRFID Training Staff Training@SkyRFID.com

Toronto: 647.476.3265 Cambridge: 519.489.2557 www.SkyRFID.com


What Our Lawyers Insist We Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of SkyRFID Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because SkyRFID must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of SkyRFID and SkyRFID cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document not be copied or distributed in any form electronic or other wise without the written consent of SkyRFID Inc. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright SkyRFID Inc. 2007 ~ 2010. To obtain your own copy of these Free Lessons simply register for this Free Course at SkyRFID.com as these lessons are updated and improved on a regular basis. Thank you for your co-operation.

Lesson 2 RFID Basics The following is lesson 2 of RFID basics continuing on with:

Radio Frequency (RF) Basics Continued!


There are 3 basic types of tags:

Passive Semi - Passive (sometimes called "semi - active") Active

Passive tags have no batteries and rely on the electromagnetic wave from the reader to build up enough power in the tags integrated circuit to send back the UID response to the reader. Passive RFID tags and readers communicate by coupling the transmitter to the receiver using: Load Modulation in the near field (close range) is used in LF, HF and some UHF Backscatter is used in the far field (longer range) for UHF and Microwave In near field communication the tag communicates with the reader byelectromagnetic inductance. The coiled antennas of the tag and reader form a transformer. The reader uses the carrier wave and changes the amplitude (displacement/size), phase or frequency. The tag detects this as a change in modulation and responds appropriately.

In far field communication backscatter is used. Backscatter is the reflection of the radio frequency wave when it hits a conductive surface. The amount of energy reflected depends on how well the surface resonates with the frequency on the wave. Resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at maximum amplitude at a certain frequency. Similar to when you pick a guitar string, the string and the sound box of the guitar resonates its not just the string that is making the sound the whole system resonates! The tag antenna is designed to resonate with the specific carrier frequency of the designated system. This is why 125 kHz. tags can not be read by 134.2 kHz. readers even though the frequencies are very close. In far field communication UHF tags can be specifically tuned to resonate depending on the type of material that they are attached to. Hence you can now have Pallet tags for wood or plastic, metal tags for metal bins, metal tags for computer hardware, glass tags for vehicle windshields, plastic tags for plastic, etc.. The UHF tag can be tuned so that when you attach it to the material it is designed for you get maximum resonance! So checking a tag read rate and distance without the tag being mounted to the material will not provide correct information. In the UHF tags passive backscatter is used to transmit data between the reader and the tag. Part of the electromagnetic wave is used to power the IC (Integrated Circuit) in the tag and the reflected part (backscatter) is used to communicate with the reader.

Types of RFID Systems


The two broad categories for RFID that we have are based on how they communicate with the reader which is Near Field and Far Field We have no idea why the other experts in the technology insist on calling them near field and far field. In plain English close range and far range. Close is 1 meter (3 feet) or less and far is more than 1 meter or 3 feet. Near Field characteristics: Usually coiled antenna due to wavelength size Use electromagnetic inductance to communicate Reader and Antenna form a transformer to communicate Have short read ranges Work well with water Good for item level tagging 125 kHz. and 134.2 kHz. maximum read range 30 cm or 1 foot. Norm is 50% of maximum. Cheaper tags read range is under 10 cm or 4 inches. 13.56 MHz. maximum read range is 1.5 meters or 5 feet. Norm is about 80 % of maximum. Cheaper tag read ranges are about 1 meter or 3 feet. 860 ~ 960 MHz EOC Gen 2 Near Field maximum read distance with correct antennas will be under 50 cm or 1.5 feet Far Field characteristics: Antennas are 1 wavelength or larger due to much smaller wavelengths Use RF passive backscatter to communicate with tags Have a much longer read range Do not work well with water *** Reader and tag both have antennas Good for Pallet and box tagging 868 MHz. read ranges are slightly lower than 915 MHz. due to regulations. Ranges of 5 meters or 16.4 feet are not uncommon. Up to 7 meters or 22 feet can be accomplished in UHF under Ideal conditions. 902 ~ 928 MHz can reach over 12 meters with hand held readers and much longer with fixed readers under "ideal" conditions. *** Since the release of the new Gen 2 EPC standards there are numerous manufacturers that have researched and successfully developed tags for use on bottled liquids, bottled gases, inside laptop computers, inside cell phones, and more! What was fact six months ago in constraints has now been broken. You can even have a high temperature tag for use in an oven that still works after it has been heated over and over again. Gen 2 EPC is continuously evolving with new improved tags and hardware being introduced on a regular basis.

Communication Methods
There are multiple methods of communicating data between the reader and tags. It is not the intent of this course to get into these details as it would be longer than the entire 6 lessons. However the short version is as follows: There are numerous ways to communicate depending on whether it is a near field or far field system. Near field systems such as the 125 and 134.2 kHz. systems use different modulation, phase shifting and encoding schemes to communicate data. These systems are either proprietary for security or standardized for interoperability. For interoperability the main methods of communication are Half Duplex and Full Duplex. Full Duplex is faster but requires more power. We will cover off more about the 125 and 134.2 kHz. in a later lesson.

The other near field system 13.56 MHz. has been designed to be used for maximum security applications and as such the method of communication is dependant on the IC (Integrated Circuit) used and also the method of encoding. 13.56 MHz. tags have much more capabilities in terms of memory storage, security, multiple read write capabilities, anti - collision and more. The far field UHF generally uses spread spectrum frequency hopping technologies plus various encryption methodologies to communicate between the reader and the tag. How UHF operates is governed by regulations in most countries.

Directional Antenna
An antenna that has High Gain or more attenuation will provide more power to the tag if the tag is in the direction of the antennas main beam. With directional antennas the gain focuses energy in one direction instead of radiating it equally in all directions like an isotropic antenna. Higher gain antennas also collect received power more effectively in the direction of the main beam.

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power


Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) is the power gain (G) of the antenna plus the power minus the loss. EIRP = Power (dBm) + gain (dBi) loss (dB) Since Isotropic is theoretical ERP Effective Radiated Power is usually used when measuring power but EIRP is usually used in regulations! ERP = Power (dBm) _ gain (dBd) loss (dB) The likelihood of interference from an RF radiator depends on the peak power density in the main beam rather than the average power. An example of a High Gain Reader Antenna Received power is increased by 10 dB which equals a range increase from 2.7 M to 8M or 3X. But EIRP = 30 dB + 10dB = 40 dBm. More on antenna, gain, environment effects, licensing and polarization next lesson.

Read this lesson at least once today, once again tomorrow and once again in 7 days and you will remember most of this for the rest of your life! See you tomorrow! Best Regards Sky RFID Training Staff Training@SkyRFID.com Toronto: 647.476.3265 Cambridge: 519.489.2557 www.SkyRFID.com
What Our Lawyers Insist We Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of SkyRFID Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because SkyRFID must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of SkyRFID and SkyRFID cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.

INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document not be copied or distributed in any form electronic or other wise without the written consent of SkyRFID Inc. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright SkyRFID Inc. 2007 ~ 2010. To obtain your own copy of these Free Lessons simply register for this Free Course at SkyRFID.com as these lessons are updated and improved on a regular basis. Thank you for your co-operation.

Lesson 3 RFID Basics In lesson 1 you learned: There are several frequencies for RFID RFID uses electromagnetic waves to communicate Decibel (dB) is an very important unit of measure Gain is positive and loss is negative Attenuation is the reduction in signal strength In lesson 2 you learned: There are 3 types of tags Near field uses electromagnetic inductance (transformer) Far field uses passive backscatter The tags are tuned to resonate based on application Communication involves modifying the wave characteristics EIRP and ERP The following is lesson 3 of RFID basics continuing on with:

Radio Frequency (RF) Basics Continued!


Antennas can be a whole 6 lesson course just to understand the importance of VSWR, impedance, Power reflection and more. We will cover off more about antennas in a following lesson (6), but only in minor detail as the objective of this course is to provide you with the Basics. We do have a fully detailed web page on antennas that you should review once you have completed this 6 lesson course.

Standards, and Regulations and Big Business Mandates


Standards Created by companies or standards organizations May or may not be government requirement May be open or proprietary Use is optional but may affect ability to use certain products Usually no legal consequences Regulations Created and enforced by Governments Apply to specific physical boundaries of regulating authority May vary between different governing authorities Legally binding and non-compliance may have serious legal consequences

Big Business Mandates Created by large organizations or institutions usually to achieve efficiencies (WalMart and others) Optional use may cause reduction in your business Non compliance may cause you to incur fines Standards Organizations International standards organizations ISO International Organization for Standardization ITU International Telecommunication Union IEC International Electrotechnical Commission

CEN European Committee for Normalization and Standardization - Regional standards National Standards Industry EPCglobal Electronic Product Code GS1 European specific of EPC plus UCC/EAN - Uniform Code Council/European Article Numbering System AIAG Automotive Industry Action Group ANSI American National Standards Institute BSI British Standards Institution

Each of the aforementioned entities can and usually does have sub organizations that represent specific arenas or markets specific to RFID technology. Suffice to say that when you are looking to design and install an RFID system you must be aware of all of the International, Federal, Local and other regulations and standards or you may have a system that gets shut down by the enforcers and you incur legal charges. Even worse you sustain permanent damage to your health! Types of Standards Technology Hardware requirements Host interface Air interface Data syntax, structure and content Conformance - read rate, test procedures, print quality, compliance specifications Application standards labelling, package, numbering, master labelling, etc.

Generically speaking ISO RFID standards cover all of the above for many types of RFID systems and applications. ISO is a good starting point to use to discover if your intended application has standards that must be used. ISO 18000 For many years in RFID there were no unifying or unilateral standards until late 2006. The change in product availability, quality, application specific and price has changed dramatically with ISO 18000 and EPC Gen 2 Global standards. More manufacturers are entering the market and forcing the competition to reduce pricing. ISO 18000 covers 5 RFID air interface frequencies:

<135 kHz. 18000 - 2 13.56 MHz. 18000 - 3 433 MHz Active 18000 -7 860 ~ 960 MHz. 18000 - 6 2.45 GHz. 18000 - 4 As per lesson one, multiple frequencies are required in RFID as the different frequencies are absorbed, reflected, refracted and have different read ranges. ISO 18000 - 1 provides the generic parameters for all globally accepted RFID frequencies. ISO 18000 2 is for Type A, 125 kHz. using full duplex (FDX) and Type B 134.2 kHz. supporting half duplex (HDX) ISO 18000 3 is for 13.56 MHz. and has 2 non-interoperable modes of operation and both of these modes require a license from the owner of the Intellectual Property. ISO 18000 4 for 2.45 GHz. also has 2 modes of operation - one for passive mode where the reader talks first and one for active mode where the tag talks first. Passive mode is under 1 M or 3 feet and active mode has 100 times more range. ISO 18000 6 is for 860 ~ 960 MHz and allows for the use of different frequencies in different regions throughout the world. Versions A & B accommodate a wide range of applications and Version C is for UHF Gen 2 (Generation 2 Global) ISO 18000 7 for the active 433 MHz range has very narrow usage and is currently used by the DoD of the United States for container tracking and the Universal Postal Union. This frequency has a very long range of hundreds of feet and is very high in cost partially due to the low number of implementations. Finally we get to near the end of this lesson! EPCglobal and GS1 EPC = Electronic Product Code - every product made in the world today can have it's own unique EPC. Bar Codes were the precursors to EPC EPCglobal is a neutral consensus based, not for profit organization and has a joint venture with GS1 organizations around the world. EPCglobal was established to create a worldwide real-time visibility of objects in the supply chain. It is used by a broad range of industries to optimize their supply chain efficiency. EPC Gen 2 is the new standard in supply chain management and provides for goods manufactured to have an Electronic Product Code (EPC) encoded in a tag that can be read in any country using the ISO 18000 6 standard. Since North America uses 915 MHz as an RFID standard and Europeuses 868 MHz as a standard, an EPC tag must be capable of being read by both 868 MHz. and 915 MHz. readers. Gen 2 is 96 bits or more but the first 96 bits are for the EPC. While the actual physical number of bits is larger than 96 they are exclusively set aside for specific standards such as password, kill code, and more. Yes, Kill code! Under EPC Gen 2 there are specific bits that when addressed make the tag unreadable and unusable forever. This was implemented to reduce the privacy issues raised by the global community. EPC 96 bits is 24 characters of hexadecimal. EPC Gen 2 tags are advancing technologically and now you can have a 128 to 512 bit EPC memory. You can also have user memory of up to 512 bits. End of Lesson 3
Read this lesson at least once today, once again tomorrow and once again in 7 days and you will remember most of this for the rest of your life! See you tomorrow! Best Regards Sky RFID Training Staff Training@SkyRFID.com Toronto: 647.476.3265 Cambridge: 519.489.2557 www.SkyRFID.com

What Our Lawyers Insist We Say

These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of SkyRFID Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because SkyRFID must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of SkyRFID and SkyRFID cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document not be copied or distributed in any form electronic or other wise without the written consent of SkyRFID Inc. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright SkyRFID Inc. 2007 ~ 2010. To obtain your own copy of these Free Lessons simply register for this Free Course at SkyRFID.com as these lessons are updated and improved on a regular basis. Thank you for your co-operation.

Lesson 4 RFID Basics

Standards and Regulations Final Plus Tags


Regulations Summary
Created by governments and may vary between different governing authorities. Apply within the physical boundary of the regulating authority Legally binding non compliance has legal consequences RFID readers transmit and receive RF energy. The signal strength and carrier wave is controlled by various regulations to avoid: Injuries to humans and wild life Interference to and from other radio wave devices

There are 3 ITU regions globally: Region 1 Europe, Africa, Middle East (west of the Persian Gulf), former Soviet Union Region 2 North and South America Region 3 Asia, Middle East (East of the Persian Gulf),Australia and Oceania. For the UHF 860 ~ 960 MHz. currently there are multiple Frequency Regulations in effect, hence the EPCglobal Gen 2 standard. US and Canada 902 ~ 928 MHz. Mexico 915 MHz. typically South America 915 MHz. typically Europe 865 ~ 868 MHz. Northern Africa 862 ~ 870 MHz. South Africa 915 MHz. typically Middle East 862 ~ 870 MHz. China 917 ~ 922 MHz temporary Japan 952 ~ 954 MHz. Pacific Rim Country dependant 866 ~ 925 MHz. Australia 915MHz. New Zealand 862 ~ 928 MHz.

Please note that within the MHz. zones there are the ITU regulations that can supersede the UHF standards plus ERP and EIRP regulations are used in many of the different countries that can differ between the UHF and ITU zones. In short each country can have specific sub regulations on the power, frequencies, channels and sub-bands used within their physical boundaries. When providing any RFID system it is always best to review all of the current regulations applicable to ensure legality of the system even though the tag may be read by all locations.

Safety
Frequencies above 100 kHz can have a warming effect on the human body. Frequencies under 10 MHz can have effects on the central nervous system due to electric current flow in the human body. Safe dosimetric parameter for exposure to RF fields is0.4W/kg for controlled exposure and 0.08 W/kg for uncontrolled exposure. Example 90 Kg (200 lb) person ~ 7.2 W safe exposure 50 Kg (110 lb) person ~ 4 W safe exposure

Safe distance from a UHF antenna ~ 23 cm or 9 inches RFID Technology Applications RFID can be used in almost any application where tracking of an object is required. Some examples of RFID applications are: Access control buildings, departments, rooms, jail cells, gates, cabinets, containers Animal/livestock management Amusement park Cashless payment systems Document management Event management and access control Evidence management Healthcare Patient tracking Equipment tracking Services tracking Medication tracking Controlled substance tracking Uniform cleaning

Hospitality Access Events Cashless payment

Garment rentals Jewellery management Laundry and flatware service

Library and video store Mining - who is in the mine, where are they in the mine Manufacturing Raw Materials Work in process tracking Quality assurance Finished Goods Safety

Pharmaceutical Security Laptops PDAs Anything that has value and can be picked up by someone Product authentication Product management Product security Product documentation Lot control

Service industry Field service for consumer goods Field service for HVAC, Electrical Contractors, Mechanical Contractors Fleet maintenance Equipment maintenance

Supply chain Receiving and shipping Inventory control Warehousing Retail stores o High value items

Transportation Management Rail cars and containers Transportation pass Toll collection Vehicle identification Vehicle theft detection Security

Warranty service and support When you review the potential applications that we have presented for you, hopefully you will be able to add a lot more to the list of where RFID has benefits.

Bar Code provided accuracy and real time data collection which improved efficiencies and reduced costs for many businesses. RFID provides visibility which will reduce shrinkage/theft, reduce and eliminate time to Find something and alsoincrease readability rates dirt does not affect the RFID tag the way a Bar Code becomes unreadable.

Benefits of RFID
Improved data quality Real time data collection Reduced data collection time Minimum human intervention Improved visibility of assets or products

The RFID Tag/Transponder


IC integrated circuit with the following components Microprocessor with 40 to 50 thousand transistors Powered by radio frequency waves Memory to store data: Read Only, rewriteable, write once read many 64 Bits to 4 K bits or more depending on IC and frequency - Smart card and smart chip technologies - 256k bytes or more Can have multiple banks of memory that are addressed separately Can have multiple security encoding schemes Can have multiple password authentications for security

Commodity item

The IC has a strap and two conducting pads that are connected to an antenna For Gen 2 the ICs are mass produced onto a backing that enables high speed conversion into inlays (inlets), labels or packaging materials. The antenna is the largest part of the tag and affects the overall size of the tag. Designed for specific applications Designed for specific frequencies

Substrate is the material that holds the IC, strap and antenna together on the tag and the inlays. The inlay is a sub-assembly of an IC, antenna and substrate and is used to embed into labels or form part of a finished tag A tag has the prior components plus can have substrate on both sides and an adhesive on one side. Encapsulated tags are tags with their inlays encapsulated in an RF friendly material. This is done for protection against the environment, tuning for the material to be attached to, tamper prevention, implementation management and aesthetics. Multiple ICs of different frequencies can be combined in a single form factor for multiple application usage.

Tags can take many form factors Wristbands Patient bands Glass tags Encapsulated Buttons Keychain tags Heat resistant tags Metallic tags Container tags Epoxy tags Tickets Cards Embedded in products or packaging Animal tags Labels

Some examples of really small tags are shown below:

Gen 2 Button Encapsulated Tag Glass Animal Tag To see other types of tags please go to our web siteHttp://www.SkyRFID.com and view the products page. There are samples of all types of tags that we have discussed. Next Lesson we will summarize the tags and then advantages and disadvantages of each frequency. End of Lesson 4
Read this lesson at least once today, once again tomorrow and once again in 7 days and you will remember most of this for the rest of your life! See you tomorrow! Best Regards Sky RFID Training Staff Training@SkyRFID.com Toronto: 647.476.3265 Cambridge: 519.489.2557 www.SkyRFID.com

What Our Lawyers Insist We Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of SkyRFID Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because SkyRFID must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of SkyRFID and SkyRFID cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document not be

copied or distributed in any form electronic or other wise without the written consent of SkyRFID Inc. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright SkyRFID Inc. 2007 ~ 2010. To obtain your own copy of these Free Lessons simply register for this Free Course at SkyRFID.com as these lessons are updated and improved on a regular basis. Thank you for your co-operation.

Lesson 5 RFID Basics

Tag Summary & Pluses and Minuses of Each Frequency


RFID tags require power to operate. For the Passive tag the power is supplied by the Reader. For the Semi-passive tag there is a battery which speeds the response and range but the tag still requires power from the reader to operate it. Active tags are powered by a battery or other power source. The reader is not necessarily required in order to activate the tag.

Passive Tags
Passive tags are the most employed in the world due to many reasons, many of which are shown below. They are small, inexpensive and have a long life (some over 20 years) They do not have their own power source therefore they require no maintenance to replace a worn out battery. They obtain power from the RF waves emitted by a reader. Therefore they can only communicate when in the read zone of a reader. Tag read range is any where from a few centimetres/inches to about 12 meters or 37 feet. We have successfully been able to obtain an excellent read rate but with only a few tags per second at about 45 feet. This was accomplished using very low loss cables and a high gain circular polarized antenna. You can not obtain this read range in Europe due to power and bandwidth limitations. The disadvantage of passive tags is the shorter read range.

Semi-Passive Tags
Semi passive tags have batteries to power the IC. Tag read range can be up to 30 meters or about 100 feet. Tag can be coupled to sensors for measuring many different conditions. Tag requires lower reader signal to activate. Tag can have sleep mode to conserve battery life. Disadvantage is higher cost, larger and heavier tag and battery maintenance is required.

Active Tags
Active tags have a battery or other power source. Some active tags can be attached to larger power sources such a 9 Volt, 12 Volt or AC power supplies. Active tags contain their own radio transmitter. Tag has a longer read range up to 750 feet or more. Tag can have a larger memory up to 64 K bytes.

Tags can be configured to alarm when moved, tampered with, or attached cable cut. Tags can contain environmental sensors for movement, temperature, pressure, magnetic flux density change, and more with tolerance limits for activation. Tags can be set to continuously beacon or send out their identification, put into sleep mode until activated by a reader, or activate only when an environmental condition is met. Histories of activities or events sensed by the tag can be stored in the tags memory for retrieval at a later date. Disadvantages of active tags are cost, size and weight.

125 and 134.2 kHz. LF (Low Frequency)


Pluses Minuses Minimum regulations from governments. Small amounts of data stored 128 bit to 2 K bit. Excellent for reading at slow speed and minimum distance. Penetrates most materials such as water, tissue, and wood. Can have high security using encryption and adjustable frequency.

Minimum penetration around metals. Slower read rates. Minimum range. Largest antenna requirement due to wavelength of 2,400 meters or 7,860 feet. Applications Access control Animal tracking Pay quick cashless systems (gas stations) Guard patrol routes Maintenance Asset identification For special proprietary applications the ICs in the LF category can actually operate from 100 to 150 kHz. and can be set to respond at another frequency thereby reducing the potential for someone to use a standard reader to read the proprietary tag information. RTLS (Real Time Location Systems) normally use a special Active LF tag and can locate assets within about 2 ~ 3 meters or 5 - 9 feet.

13.56 MHz. HF (High Frequency)


Pluses Penetrates water and tissue well. Longer read and write range than LF. Simpler antenna due to size of wavelength being 22 meters or 73 feet. Higher data rate than LF. Smaller form factor. Ideal for Smart Card read/write applications. Lower cost of readers when compared to LF and UHF.

Multiple security features available in different ICs. Less regulations than all of the other frequencies. Minuses Maximum read range of 1.5 Meters or 4.8 feet under ideal conditions. Does not penetrate or transmit well around metals - low read distance or about 20 cm or 8 inches. Requires specific antenna configurations to obtain good read rates. Applications Smart Cards for cashless payment systems Casino chips Hospitality industry High level security Event management Library and video store rentals Garment rentals Evidence management Document management

860 ~ 960 MHz. UHF (Ultra High Frequency)


Pluses Minuses Best frequency for read distances of over 1 meter or 3 feet. Range of up to about 15 Meters or 49 feet under ideal conditions. (Europe 9 meters or 30 feet) High Data transfer rate Smaller antenna as wavelength is .33 Meters or 1.1 feet. Controlled read zones using antenna directional capabilities. One tag can be used to identify a product in one continent and read by a reader on another continent using a different frequency. 860 MHz. ~ 928 MHz. provides global interoperability. Tags can be made in many form factors to work in many environments. Tags can be tuned to operate better when attached to a specific material.

Difficult to penetrate water and tissue (though you can now obtain tags for bottled liquids) Numerous regulatory issues for frequency, power, channels, duty cycles, bands and more. To operate globally an IC must be capable of operating at 0.5 W to 4.0 W with varying duty cycles and output power. Readers are more expensive than HF. Applications Pallet and case level tracking Healthcare patient tracking Asset tracking Fleet maintenance Security for laptops, etc. Manufacturing

Environmental controls Field service

2.45 GHz. UHF (Ultra High Frequency) - Microwave


Pluses Minuses Tag has a greater read range than LF or HF. Tag needs a smaller antenna than UHF or LF and HF wavelength is 0.122 Meters or 0.4 feet. High data read rate. More channels available than UHF. Effective around metals. Controlled read range using antenna directional capabilities.

Susceptible to electronic noise. Lower distance read rate than UHF. Crowded spectrum can cause interference. Limited number of vendors due to technical requirements. Regulatory approvals still in process in many regions Applications Container and rail car tracking Toll collection Pallet level tracking Environment controls Truck tracking and monitoring

End of lesson 5 - last lesson is coming. Read this lesson at least once today, once again tomorrow and once again in 7 days and you will remember most of this for the rest of your life! See you tomorrow! Best Regards Sky RFID Training Staff Training@SkyRFID.com Toronto: 647.476.3265 Cambridge: 519.489.2557 www.SkyRFID.com
What Our Lawyers Insist We Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this

document represents the current view of SkyRFID Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because SkyRFID must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of SkyRFID and SkyRFID cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document not be copied or distributed in any form electronic or other wise without the written consent of SkyRFID Inc. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright SkyRFID Inc. 2007 ~ 2010. To obtain your own copy of these Free Lessons simply register for this Free Course at SkyRFID.com as these lessons are updated and improved on a regular basis. Thank you for your co-operation.

Lesson 6 RFID Basics

Antenna and Readers


Antenna
While we touched on antennas in earlier lessons we now need to cover off more details in order for you to understand how important the antenna plays in the RFID system. Theory is radically different from reality especially for RFID systems. When implementing an RFID solution that requires fixed antenna to read tags there are many physical propagation impairments that change the wave characteristics. Reflection off walls, floors, ceilings, ducts, wooden objects, metal objects, etc. Reflection, diffraction and scattering of the wave by nearby objects Absorption by walls These issues and more, result in complex local variations in signal strength that can be very difficult to resolve. These effects grow worse as the tag moves farther from the antenna. In addition to the physical environment issues that you have to contend with, there are many other Radio Frequency waves that can disrupt the RFID system, such as: Cell phone towers Power lines Wireless LANs Walkie talkies Wireless phones Wireless bar code printers Lightening Ground faults Virtually any electrical or radio wave source. Antennas are designed to change electrical energy into radio wave energy. Antennas can transmit and receive energy. An antenna that radiates its energy equal in all directions is called an Isotropic antenna, which in fact is theoretical only. Remember EIRP versus ERP? Key antenna characteristics are: Polarization Radiation pattern Impedance Impedance is usually 50 Ohms and for minimum line loss between the reader and antenna, heavy duty cabling should be used. Radiation pattern is the direction and magnitude of the wave energy and is specified in dB gain.

Polarization is how the waves propagate. Linear polarization (dipole antennas) propagates the wave vertically or horizontally. o Provides a longer read range and better penetration. o Suitable for applications where the tag orientation is guaranteed. Circular polarization (helix, crossed dipoles and patch) propagates in 2 planes creating a rotating field. o Power received by the tag is half that from a linear antenna at the same gain. o Antenna orientation is insensitive and therefore suitable for applications where the tag orientation is not guaranteed. There are many other factors and equations in dealing with antennas and what is the right antenna for the application. Generally speaking linear antenna provides better coverage in conveyor line situations and circular provide better coverage in portal and tunnel applications. For more detailed information on Antennas link to our RFID Antenna Tutorial http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Antenna_Tutorial.php Protocols Tag to reader protocols are independently developed and dont interoperate. Many protocols are proprietary so you will pay a licensing fee and or need their readers in order for the system to operate properly. (Weigand, Legic, Mifare, etc.) Each RF Frequency has different protocols that may need to be adhered to in order to have the system functioning correctly. Readers Readers (interrogators) read and write data from and to tags. In addition: Readers can also link to external objects via communications protocols to send and receive data from business processes within the enterprise. Supply the power to communicate with the tags. Store data collected and then send the collected data to other devices. Send trigger signals to another I/O device based on a read event. Function specifically based on application software. Types of Readers Handheld, Fixed, Mobile Single Protocol, Multi-Protocol Single-frequency, Multi-Frequency Bi-static, Mono-static Integrated antenna, external antenna single or multiple Battery, AC or PoE (Power over Ethernet) Dumb, Smart Serial, Ethernet (wired or wireless), USB connection LBT Listen Before Talk A reader with an antenna that has both receiving and transmitting functions is a monostatic reader.

A reader that has each antenna dedicated to either receiving or transmitting functions is a bi-static reader. Another flavour of the reader is to have an LBT (listen before talk) port. This reader uses the LBT port to listen before the reader transmits a signal. While LF and HF readers generally have lower transmit power capabilities due to wavelength size and read distances, UHF readers usually have a 1 Watt or 30dBm Transmit Power capability. Maximum power output of a 4 port fixed UHF reader is 4 Watt. UHF Gen 2 readers have been designed to operate under many different environment conditions due to the potential presence of other readers and as such have multiple mode capabilities. New readers are entering the marketplace on a regular basis so it is difficult to keep up with the advances unless you are dedicated to the industry. In 2006 there were very few UHF hand held readers using MS Windows Mobile and touch screens. They also tended to be fairly expensive around $ 3,500 US plus accessories or they were simply older technology adapted to newer UHF chips. In mid 2007 there were new entrants into the market that not only used MS Windows Mobile and touch screens, they also had 1D or 2D Bar Code laser scanners, 13.56 MHz. HF reader/writer and the 860 ~ 960 MHz. UHF read/write built in and available for about $ 2500. US. More units will enter the marketplace with dropping prices and since Intel built an All in One UHF chip for OEMs that was released in March 2007 - The UHF chip technology was then sold to Impinj who is now marketing it in 2 form factors. In 2010 we now have a wide variety of USB, desktop, and hand held reader at affordable prices. Many desktop readers are now around $ 500 US and easily integrate into applications. SkyRFID features a hand held reader that is 13.56 MHz and UHF 860 ~ 960 MHz plus it is a cell phone - GSM/GPRS/EDGE, a Global Positioning System - GPS, a digital Camera - plays MP3's, and of course is a PDA! The final note: Environment really determines how the RFID system should be designed in order to work properly. A spectrography site analysis done several times over several days in order to obtain the full understanding of potential interference is a must in order to obtain the best read rate possible. If automatic equipment is being used for the processes then you need 100% read rates or you will have problems. Design considerations: EMI, EFI from surrounding equipment Any other Radio interference potentials

Heat and cold Distance between components Data read speed and rate or read requirements Chemicals, moisture, corrosive environment Vibration and other motion.

Literally anything can affect the read and write performance and everything can and will. On SkyRFID web site home page there are a number of links toour web pages that contain additional tutorials and other information not in these lessons - we said 6 lessons! There is so much more to RFID. These additional pages contain valuable information about the technology and are updated on a regular basis. You may want to link to them for future referencing. This is the end of lesson 6

Please remember this course covered RFID basics only. In order to successfully design and implement RFID systems a lot more knowledge is required. Antenna knowledge must be improved, understanding of wavelengths and how they apply to cable, ISO standards, data transmission standards, encoding schemes, Gen 2, and more. We have tried to compress hundreds of pages of knowledge down to something that is easily understood. We have added additional courses on a number of topics directly on our web site that will be updated and added to on a regular basis. The current size is bigger than these lessons and with many more pictures for ease of understanding. Go to our home page to select more tutorials - http://www.SkyRFID.com

http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Frequencies.php http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Antenna_Tutorial.php http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Cable_and_Ends.php http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Tag__IC_Chips.php http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Tag_Inlays.php http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Tag_Design.php http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Tag_Read_Ranges.php http://www.skyrfid.com/RFID_Gen_2_What_is_it.php


We at SkyRFID hope that you have a better understanding of the basics of RFID and enjoyed this free course. In order for us to continuously improve ourselves, we would appreciate any comments (good or bad) that you may have about this course. Please feel free to email your comment to Training@SkyRFID.com

If you have any questions or want to learn more please contact us and we will be pleased to assist you in your endeavours. We do offer longer on-site full in depth courses for those of you who are interested. Or you can come to Canada for a course and visit our beautiful country.

Best Regards Sky RFID Training Staff Training@SkyRFID.com Toronto: 647.476.3265 Cambridge: 519.489.2557 www.SkyRFID.com
What Our Lawyers Insist We Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of SkyRFID Inc. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because SkyRFID must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of SkyRFID and SkyRFID cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT.

RFID Frequencies and Transmission Power


The chart below shows the standard radio frequencies ranges used for RFID, what the frequency is used for and the maximum fieldstrength/transmission power. Following the chart is more detailed information on UHF and EPCglobal standards by Country .

Frequency Ranges for RFID Systems


Fieldstrength/Transmision Power

Frequency Range

Description

<135 kHz. (125 kHz. and 134.2 kHz.) 3.155 ~ 3.400 MHz.

Low Frequency, Inductive Coupling

72 dBA/m maximum

Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) High frequency ISM band (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) High Frequency EAS only High Frequency 13.56 MHz. ISM, inductive coupling, proximity smartcard (ISO 14443, MiFare, Legic, etc) Vicinity smartcard (ISO 15693, Tag-It, I-Code) and item management (ISO 18000-3) High Frequency ISM, inductive coupling, special applications only

13.5 dBA/m

6.765 ~ 6.795 MHz.

42 dBA/m

7.400 ~ 8.800 MHz.

9 dBA/m

13.553 ~ 13.567 MHz.

60 dBA/m

26.957 ~ 27.283 MHz.

42 dBA/m

433 MHz.

Ultra High Frequency (UHF), ISM, backscatter coupling, active RFID UHF RFID, Listen Before Talk, backscatter coupling UHF RFID, Listen Before Talk, backscatter coupling UHF Short Range Device (SRD), backscatter coupling

10 ~ 100 mW

865 ~ 868 MHz. 865.6 ~ 867.6 MHz. 865.6 ~ 868 MHz.

100 mW ERP Europe 2 W ERP (3.8 W EIRP) Europe 500 mW ERP Europe 4 W EIRP - spread spectrum, USA/Canada 4 W - spread spectrum, USA/Canada 0.5 W EIRP outdoor, 4 W EIRP indoor 4 W USA/Canada, 500 mW Europe

902 ~ 928 MHz.

UHF SRD, backscatter coupling

2.400 ~ 2.483 GHz.

Super High Frequency (SHF) backscatter coupling

2.446 ~ 2.454 GHz.

SHF RFID and Automatic Vehicle Identification

5.725 ~ 5.875 GHz.

SHF ISM, backscatter coupling

Note that in Europe there are numerous different frequencies and different maximum power regulations. Some of the European standards and the USA/Canada regulations have been adopted by other countries. When implementing an RFID system it is very important to make sure that all of the hardware meets local regulations.

Country frequency information is shown below the standards organizations information.


In order to understand the local regulations that may or may not apply, you first need to know the standards organizations and how they fit into the local RFID frequency and power transmision regulations.

International Standards Organizations


ISO - International Organization for Standardization ITU - International Telecommunication Union IEC - International Electrotechnical Commision

National Standards Organizations

ANSI - American National Standards Institute BSI - British Standards Institute

Industry Standards Organizations


AIAG - Automotive Industry Action Group EPCglobal - Electronic Product Code global - organization set up to achieve worldwide adoption and standardization of EPC technology and was a joint venture between GS1 and GS1 US, now other countries have also joined (GS1- Canada) GS1 - Global organization dedicated to the design and standardization of global standards and solutions to imporve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains GS1 US - United States version of GS1, there are more than 100 countries that support the GS1 initiative ( GS1-Albania ~ GS1 - Vietnam)

There are three (3) ITU Regions globally:


Region 1 - Europe, North Africa, Middle East (west of the Persian Gulf), former Soviet Union Region 2 - North and South America Region 3 - Asia, Middle East (east of the Persian Gulf), Australia and Oceania

While the EPCglobal organization is trying to establish global standards, in many cases the ITU or other groups have already made frequency and transmission power regulations. This makes the EPCglobal standard for UHF multi-frequency and multi-power ratings between the 860 MHz. and 960 MHz. bandwidth using FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) or LBT (Listen Before Talk) The following are the current EPCglobal standards for countries or regions starting with North America: United Stated and Canada - 902 ~ 928 MHz Mexico - 902 ~ 928 MHz Puerto Rica - 902 ~ 928 MHz Latin America - Costa Rica, Dominican Republic - 902 ~ 928 MHz South America - Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay - 902 ~ 928 MHz, Brazil - 902 ~ 907.5 MHz and 915 ~ 928 MHz, Venuezuela 922 ~ 928 MHz Europe - 865.6 ~ 867.6 MHz. (power varies by country and region) North Africa - 862 ~ 870 MHz South Africa - 865.6 ~ 867.6 MHz, 915.4 ~ 919 MHz and 919.2 ~ 921 MHz. Different power ratings and technique Israel - 915 ~ 917 MHz Turkey - 865.6 ~ 867.6 MHz Tunisia - 865.6 ~ 867.6 MHz Middle East - 862 ~ 870 MHz United Arab Emirates - 865.6 ~ 867.6 MHz Iran - 865 ~ 868 MHz India - 865 ~ 867 MHz Thailand - 920 ~ 925 MHz Malaysia - 919 ~ 923 MHz

Philippines 918 ~ 920 MHz Malta - 865.6 ~ 867.6 MHz Singapore - 866 ~ 869 MHz and 920 ~ 925 MHz - Different power ratings Vietnam - 866 ~ 869 MHz and 920 ~ 925 MHz China - 840.5 ~ 844.5 MHz and 920.5 ~ 924.5 MHz Hong Kong - 866 ~ 868 MHz and 920 ~ 925 MHz Taiwan - 922 ~ 928 MHz Korea - 910 ~ 914 MHz Japan - 952 ~ 954 MHz and 952 ~ 955 MHz - Different power ratings and licenses Australia - 920 ~ 926 MHz New Zealand - 864 ~ 868 MHz

This list is by no means the full list of all of the different countries that have frequency regulations. To ensure compliance to the local regulations make sure that you review the current standards prior to purchasing your readers. For additional information

RFID Reader Antenna Tutorial What you need to know.


The RFID reader antenna transmits a wave that has both electrical and magnetic properties and is known as an electromagnetic wave. There are 3 different types of RFID antennas: Linear Polarization (dipole antennas) - the electromagnetic wave propagates entirely in one plane (Vertical or Horizontal) in the direction of the signal propagation. This is the best wave propagation when the tag orientation is known and fixed. The RFID antenna and RFID tag should be matched in polarization to obtain the best read rates.

Circular Polarization (helix, crossed dipoles and patch - click on this hyper link to see the pictures or each type of antenna) - the electromagnetic wave propagates in two planes creating a circular effect (like a corkscrew) making one complete revolution in a single wavelength timeframe. Since the RFID antenna continuously emits a wavelength the rotational field will eventually cover any tag that is in its path. This is best to use when tag orientation is unknown, butyou lose at least 3dB when compared to a linear polarized antenna. Circular polarization can be right or left handed hence the RHCP and LHCP options for circular polarized antenna.

Monostatic Circular or Bistatic Circular (2 Right Hand, 2 Left Hand or Right Hand + Left Hand)

Monostatic is the most common RFID antenna and uses a single common port to transmit and receive signals Bistatic uses 2 RFID antennas in the same physical housing and uses one port to transmit and the other port to receive

Monostatic RFID readers can be 1, 2 or 4 port readers. Sometimes there is also an LBT (Listen Before Talk) port making it a 5 port reader. On the monostatic readers the port transmits first and then receives signals on the same port. Bistatic RFID readers usually have 8 ports - 4 transmit and 4 receive so that each port is always active either transmitting or receiving signals. RFID antennas are tuned to resonate only to a narrow range of carrier frequencies that are centered on the designated RFID system frequency. RFID systems use the decibel (dB) to describe antenna gain, cables losses and power output for all hardware specifications and regulations. The Decibel is a ratio between two signal strength levels and is a 10th of a Bel Bel is named after Alexander Graham Bell (hence the letter B is capitalized). Incidentally Bell invented the telephone; as well as numerous other inventions. These calculations are logarithmic scale measurements hence they use the logarithm of a physical quantity instead of the quantity itself!

Bel = log (P2/P1)

dB is also a logarithmic measurement and gives simple numbers for large-scale variations in signal strength. This is very useful as you can easily calculate the RFID system gain and losses by adding and subtracting whole numbers.

dB=10*log (P2/P1)

The dB unit allows big variations in signal strengths/levels to be handled with simple math. Gain is

Positive and Loss is Negative

When you attach a reader to an antenna you use coaxial cable. Depending on the quality and length of the cable you will lose a certain amount of power between the reader and the antenna. This is known as line loss. Higher quality (low noise) cable reduces the amount of line loss and allows for longer cable runs while providing maximum power to the antenna from the reader.(Click on this hyperlink for more cable details) The antenna usually provides gain to make up for what the line loss is between the reader and the cable.

A 3 dB gain on an antenna is equal to a 2 times increase in the signal strength that came from the end of the cable attached to the antenna. Likewise a 3dB loss such as using a circular polarized antenna over a linear antenna with the same reader power means a loss of about 50% of the signal strength. The 3 dB loss using circular polarization is usually made up with a gain of at least 6 dBi on the antenna to bring back the 2 times increase. A 10 dB gain on an antenna is equal to a 10 times increase in the signal strength. A 10 db lossmeans you lose 90% of the signal strength. A 20 dB gain is equal to to losing 99% of your signal strength

100 times increase. A 20 db loss is equivalent

If you are not careful when you put together an RFID system you can easily exceed the legal power limits.

The antenna size and gain are also proportional so the higher the gain in dB on the antenna the bigger the antenna is! Likewise
small antenna

equals

lower gain.

The RFID antenna propagates the wave in both vertical and horizontal dimensions. The field coverage of the wave and also its signal strength is partially controlled by the number of degrees that the wave expands as it leaves the antenna. While the higher number of degrees means a bigger wave coverage pattern it also means lower strength of the signal.

Azimuth(AZ) is the horizontal radiation plane of the antenna wave and uses degrees to
depict the amount of expansion horizontally from the centerline of the antenna at a maximum variation of 3 dB .(Deviation of this 3 dB is also known as Beamwidth - so you will experience a 50% loss of signal strength when near or at the 3 bB Beamwidth angle)

Elevation (EL) is the vertical radiation plane of the antenna and also uses degrees to
depict the amount of expansion vertically from centerline of the antenna at a maximum variation of 3 dB. Note the same signal strenght information applies for the Elevation Beamwidth as the Azimuth Beamwidth. Both Linear and circular antenna can have different AZ and EL degrees thus providing different read patterns depending on your requirements. The larger the number of degrees the wider the wave read zone and thus the lower the wave signal strength. The RFID antenna gain and the radiation plane width are mutually dependant and the larger the gain, the narrower the radiation plane. Where the AZ and EL are not identical in degrees the wider side controls the narrower plane.

The strength coverage between the AZ and EL planes is called Axial Ratio Level and is expressed in dB and indicates the degradation value between the maximum gain (usually at centerline) and the AZ or EL plane. Once we know the read zone that we wish to create we can now calculate the basic AZ and EL degrees that could form the zone for our tag reading requirements. A typical high quality linear Azimuth and Elevation radiation pattern could look like this:

Azimuth 70 and Elevation 70 Whereas a typical high quality circular Azimuth and Elevation radiation pattern could look like this:

Azimuth 63 and Elevation 70

VSWR or Voltage Standing Wave Ratio is also an important consideration in antenna


selection. VSWR is the Voltage ratio of the amplitude of a partial standing wave at the maximum compared to the adjacent wave at its minimum. For those who are really interested in the full details please email us for the 8 page explanation! Suffice to say the VSWR value 1.2:1 denotes a maximum standing wave amplitude that is 1.2 times greater than the minimum standing wave value. Generally speaking the lower the ratio to a 1:1 the better antenna efficiency of transmitted power - theory only!

Axial Ratio is defined as the circular polarization of the RFID antenna - only for
circular not linear antenna. This is the ratio between the maximum and minimum linear gain. Low Axial Ratio antennas allow for more tags to be read with the same power output of another antenna with a higher Axial Ratio. So look for low axial ratios when you need to read more tags in the read zone. Now that you have a basic understanding what the types of antennas are and what those strange numbers and ratios mean, you have the capability of predetermining what you need to obtain a good read rate before you start your implementation. Using the same antenna in different circumstances does not provide the best read rates or the required read zone. What you also need to understand when you implement an RFID system is that any reflection, diffraction or absorption changes the theoretical read zone and any other waves such as a cellphone, power lines, WiFi, motors, engines - virtually anything that propagates a wave can and will cause signal strength degradation. We do hope this information assists you in the understanding of RFID Antennas. We also understand that this information can be very confusing as there is a lot to understand in order to determine your antenna requirements.

all antennas are not created equally and you should have an expert such as SkyRFID assist you with your antenna selection to
Simply put maximum the read rate for your specific RFID implementation. For more information on what antenna you really need to make your RFID project a success Contact Us for assistance.

RFID Cable and Ends


SkyRFID understands how important the cable and ends are to the overall read performance in an RFID implementation. If you don't have the right cable, the right length of cable and the right ends on the cable you simply won't get thebest read rate that you could nor the fastest read rate. Cable type is very important to the overall performance of the RFID implementation. If the cable is not a low loss cable and is not shielded properly, then you will get interference and lower read rates than is possible with the proper cable. To extract the best possible read rate you need to use the lowest line loss cable with low loss connectors and have the total cable length equal to a whole number of wavelengths of the frequency that you are operating on. If you don't use high quality ends for both the reader and the antenna connection, you will introduce noise and potential line loss into the read rate.

The mathematical calculation used to calculate a wavelength is:

Wavelength = 299792458 divided by the Frequency or;

Frequency = 299792458 divided by the Wavelength

SkyRFID supplies high quality LRM cabling in LMR 240, LMR 400 or LMR 600 UV resistant polyethylene jacketed cables orLMR -DB which is watertight from Altelicon, Amphenol or Times Microwave at very competitive prices. All LMR cable is very flexible, low loss with higher RFI shielding usually 50 dB greater than typical single shielded coax. The higher the LMR number the thicker the cable will be but the attenutation is much lower. When you compare the cable characteristics such as attenuation - how much signal loss there is is a length of cable and power consumption in the same length - the LMR series of cables provides much lower losses. Altelicon LMR 240 - attenuation 24.8 dB per 100 meters (7.6 dB/100 ft) at 900 MHz. and 42.4 dB per 100 m attenuation at 2.5 GHz. Altelicon LMR 400 - attenuation 12.8 dB per 100 meters (3.9 dB/100 ft) at 900 MHz. and 22.2 dB per 100 m attenutation at 2.5 GHz. Lower attenuation gives you a longer distance and higher read rates. The proper quality ends are just as important to the overall read rate. Depending on which type of cable you need the higher the LMR number the thicker the cable and the larger the connector. Conectors are supplied as straight connector or 90 dependant on installation requirements.

Some actual Wavelength calculations are:


125 kHz. wavelength is 2,400 meters or 7860 feet 13.56 MHz. wavelength is 22 meters or 73 feet 433 MHz wavelength is 0.6924 meters or 2.27165 feet or 2 feet and 3.25 inches 900 MHz. wavelength is 0.3323 meters or 1.1 foot or 12.96 inches

915 MHz. wavelength is 12.78 inches - notice between 900 MHz. and 915 MHz. there is a measurable difference that becomes more noticable the longer the cable length is. Whole wavelength cable lengths provide the best signal strength.

Integrated Circuit/Chips (IC's) for RFID tags available for our transponders/tags
At a minimum the RFID IC chip choice determines the Carrier Wave Frequency, Maximum Read Distance, Memory Size, Function, Encoding Scheme, Security, and sometimes the Air Interface. Convertors are companies who take the RFID inlay (raw integrated circuit and antenna) and convert/encapsulate/package it into the finished tag. Packaging/converting these chips to an RFID tag/transponder determines the final maximum read range as antenna size and packaging materials play a big role. Actual final read range depends not only on tag final packaging or form factor, but also the individual reader and antenna wave strength plus the environment surrounding the reader and tag. The following tables show some of the IC's that we use for a final tag form factor. We decided to table the RFID Chips (IC's) rather than show individual finished tags since that would be simply too many pictures and repetitive details. When RFID began there were very few form factors and also each frequency had specific form factors. Now in today's world the final form factor can have almost any wave frequency (final size dependant) and in many cases the form factor can contain multiple frequencies to address multiple applications within a single tag. Please note that each RFID Chip is unique in some specific property. Knowledge of these RFID IC's is required by our experts in order to select the right chip and form factor/packaging/ecapsulation for your specific application requirements. The RFID chips charts below are for RFID Passive Tags. Active Tags often use proprietary chips.

LF IC

HF IC

UHF IC

To view some of our finished RFID Tags Click Here. For specific applications select from the tag sub menu on the left of the screen. To inquire about any of our tags Click Here. To read about RFID Tag Inlays, RFID Tag Designor RFID Tag Read Distances just click on the link to go to the page or simply select your choice from the menu on the left of the screen.

LF IC's 125 kHz. ~ 134.2 kHz.


Maximum read range 30 cm - Special Antenna and Tags - 2 meters

IC

Memory

Function

EM4100 EM4102 EM4450 T5557 Hitag1 Hitag2 HitagS2048

64 bits 64 bits 1K byte 330 bits 2048 bits 256 bits 2048 Bits

Read Only Read Only Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write

HF IC's 13.56 MHz.


Maximum read range 1.5 M - Special Antenna and Tags - 3 meters

IC
EM4006 EM4034 EM4035 EM4135 Mifare1 S50 Mifare1 S70 Mifare Desfire Mifare ultralight I Code SLI SL2 I Code SLI-SY I Code 1 TI2048 TI256 INSIDE 2K SR 176 Legicmim256 Legicmim1024 LegicADVANT

Memory
64 bit 448 bit 3.2K bit 2.4K bit 1K byte 4K byte 4K byte 512 bits 1024 bits 2048 bits 512 bits 2048 bits 256 bits 2K bits 176 bits 256 bits 1024 byte 1024 byte

Function
Read Only Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write

ISO Standard
15693 15693 15693 14443A 14443A 14443A 14443A 15693 15693, 18000-3 ICODE 1 15693 15693 15693/14443B 14443B

15693

LegicADVANT JWL872

2048 byte 768 bits

Read Write Read Write

15693/14443A 14443A

UHF IC's 860 MHz. ~ 930 MHz.


Maximum read range 9 - 14 meters - Monza3, Monza4 & Higgs3 - 15 meters or more

IC
ATA5590 HIGGS2 HIGGS3 UCODE HSL UCODE EPCGEN2 UCODE G2XM UCODE G2XL MONZA MONZA/ID MONACO/64 MONZA3 MONZA4D MONZA4E MONZA4U MONZA4QT TI Gen 2 XRA GEN2 XRA00 V740 V750 SL-EPC Rafsec

Memory
1024 bits 192 bits 512 bits user 2048 bits 512 bits 512 bits 512 bits 192 bits 192 bits+64 UID 256 bits 192 bits 32 bits user 128 bits user 512 bits user 512 bits user 192 bits 432 bits 128 bits 96 bits 96 bits 96 ~ 256 bits 96 ~ 244 bits

Function
Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write

ISO Standard
ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6B ISO 18000 - 6B ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C ISO 18000 - 6C

We provide custom tags/inlays using LF, HF and UHF IC's available from Alien, Atmel, Avery Dennison, Impinj, NXP, Omron, Philips, Rafsec, RSI, SmartCode, STM, Symbol, Texas Instruments, and other top manufacturers for a very wide variety of applications through our global converter alliances.

RFID Tag Inlays


RFID inlays are composed of an IC (Integrated Circuit, Chip) and a Dipole antenna. To attach the antenna to the IC we commonly use a strap. RFID inlays can be either "wet" or "dry" Wet inlays are inlays that have an adhesive backing with a clear or colored topsurface of PVC,PET or paper, the PVC or PET wet inlays are commonly used to make "RFID Labels" where the inlay is placed on the back of the label with the adhesive side away from the label side so that the label has continuous adhesive. PLacement of the wet inlay on the label is very specific to each RFID printer in order to be programmed correctly by the printer and also to minimize the risk of damaging the RFID inlay while in the printer. Dry inlays are inlays that are attached to the substrate backing material commonly called the web.

Antennas can be made of silver, aluminum or copper, with each material producing very specific read and write characteristics because of the different chemical properties. While there are some more exotic materials sometimes used for antennas they are considerably more expensive to produce and very vertical application specific. Generally a copper antenna is slightly more expensive that aluminum or silver but is more conductive and usually provides a longer distance read capability. Inlays come on rolls ready to package/ecapsulate into finished tags. Each roll contains between 5,000 and 20,000 inlays and the automated equipment to make a tag must be set up for each roll type so a production run of 5,000 tags can easily be a single roll or a 1/4 of a roll. Most converters operate JIT facilities meaning that stock or inventory is not kept since there are so many varieties of inlays that can be used to produce a single tag. Just as there is a very wide variety of IC's for inlays, there is also a very wide variety of antennas ranging from very small - Dot, Button, Paperclips through DogBone, Hammer, Crab, Radar, Satillite, Squiggle, Mini Squiggle, Torpedo, Xcaliber, Web and Frog sizes - each inlay usually has a specific name to identify it. Size and shape of the antenna determines the read and write distance and speed characteristics. The small sample below depicts actual HF and UHF inlays at approximately 1/2 their actual size. Gen 2 inlays range in size from 7mm dia - 0.276 inches(Microdot) through 76.2 x 76.2 - 3 inches by 3 inches (Frog), to antenna designs that are aver 150 mm - almost 6 inches long.

Most inlays are designed for a specific application use - a single inlay can not and will not work for multiple types of RFID requirements. Inlays that work near or on metal do not work as well on wood or plastic. We do not expect you to be the experts on inlays, IC's and packing for the final tag that will work for you as it would be a fulltime job. To obtain more information on what tag your specific application requires

RFID Tag Design


SkyRFID prides itself not only in its ability to supply standard production tags/transponders for all RFID frequencies, we also can provide full customization services for your specialized tag requirements. Not all RFID inlays perform the same even though they appear to look identical when viewed with your naked eye. SkyRFID can supply you with standard production inlays encapsulated or packaged to your needs, and we can also supply you with special higher performance inlays and finished tags.

Mouse over to enlarge While many people are familiar with some of the inlay manufacturers, most people are not aware that an inlay such as the Avery Dennison Paperclip above can be produced with a copper, silver or aluminum antenna. Each of these 3 different antenna materials produces different read results! In addition to the antenna, how the inlay is attached to the antenna and what materials are used to attach the antenna also adds to the readability percentage and read distance equation. RFID Tags can be tuned to the material or object that the tag is going to be attached to. When you know that a tag must be attached to a specific surface we can tune your tag order so that you obtain the maximum read range when the tag is attached to the material(s) that you specify with either the standard manufacturers inlays or the higher performance inlays. If your application needs are such that the inlay and encapsulation/packaging requirements of a standard tag will result in too high of a read range, we can de-tune the tag so that you obtain only the read distance that you require. This is expecially good when using high read distance inlays and you need to keep the read range to 1 - 2 Meters (3 - 6 feet) as the standard range of 5 - 7 Meters (16 - 22 feet) would cause too many false reads due to the proximity of other tags. In addition to the tuning/detuning of standard and high performance inlays SkyRFID can also supply full engineering design and prototyping services for custom tags. We can

provide custom or boutique tags in 125 kHz., 134.2 kHz., 13.56 MHz. the 860 ~ 960 MHz. range and the 2.4 GHz frequencies. Through our strategic relationships we have access to some of the finest equipment and brightest engineers in the world. Through them we can provide services to engineer and prototype a custom tag consisting of tailored integrated ciruits (IC's) and customized antenna coupled with encapsulation/packing materials that meet or exceed your unique RFID requirements. A sample of each material that the tag will be attached is required to allow us to successfully engineer and prototype the tag you seek.

Once you approve the prototype samples we can then provide you with full production runs of these custom tags at similar costs to standard production runs making this the perfect solution for your unique application requirements.

RFID Tag Maximum Read Distance


True physical tag maximum read distance is determined by the individual RFID reader and antenna power, the actual Integrated Circuit used in the RFID tag, the material and thickness of material the tag is coated or covered with, the type of antenna the tag uses, the material the tag is attached to and more! While a specification may show a theoretical RFID tag read range of 5 meters (ideal conditions) it may be as little as 1 meter if the tag is attached to an object that is sitting on a metal surface surrounded by water and electromagnetic waves (not ideal conditions)! Generally speaking RFID tag maximum read distances are as follows: 125 kHz. and 134.3 kHz. Low Frequency (LF) Passive RFID Tags -read distance of 30 cm (1 foot) or less - usually 10 cm (4 inches) unless you are using a very large tag which can have a read distance of up to 2 meters when attached to metal. SkyRFID can provide several different LF 134.2 tags which produce read distances of 1 - 2 meters in industrial environments. We also have special readers that allow for a 1 - 2 meter read distance using standard size tags. There are no limits with SkyRFID! 13.56 MHz. High Frequency (HF) Passive RFID Tags - maximum read distance of 1.5 meters (4 foot 11 inches) - usually under 1 meter (3 feet) and you can use a single or multi port reader plus custom antennas to extend the read range to longer tag read distances or a wider RFID read zone. To obtain more than 1 meter you need a reader with more than 1 watt RFID output power. SkyRFID can supply 13.56 readers with RF power outputs up to 10 watts for multiple antenna connections and over 1 meter tag read distances. 860 ~ 960 MHz. Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Passive RFID Tags - minimum read distance of over 1 meter or 3 feet. Gen2 tags can have a read range of up to 12 meters or 37 feet, however new generation of IC's plus antenna designs are now pushing this distance to over 15 meters! Gen 2 tags can be either 860 MHz. or 902 MHz. frequencies. Gen2 EPCglobal are multifrequency 860 ~ 960 MHz. Gen 2 Semi-active battery assisted tags are semi-passive (semi-active) tags have a read range of up to 50 meters or about 162 feet. Gen 2 Semi-active tags are just emerging on the market. We have both readers and tags available for those companies that need to be on the leading edge or simply need the range of the Gen 2 Semi-active technology. SkyRFID Windshield tags out latest version read at over 12 meters (40 feet) when attached to the inside of a windhsield and using our OEM hand held reader. You can get far longer read distances using our Sky fixed readers using Gen 2 US frequency 902~ 928 MHz. 860 ~ 960 MHz. 3rd and 4th Generation IC/Silicon - The new generation 3 and 4 (Monza4, Higgs3 and NXP G2XM) silicon (Integrated Circuit) is now available in numerous inlay designs. This new silicon (IC) provides up to 40% more sensitivity while reducing RF interference. This means that a tag using this new generation of silicon can have a read range of over 16 meters or 50 feet

under FCC regulations of 4 watts EIRP. For your local power regulations see RFID Frequencies and Transmission Power. SkyRFID is now offering many H3, Monza4 and NXP G2XM tags and has tested these tags at read distances of over 16 meters or 53 feet using 30 dBi power and a single antenna! RTLS - Real Time Location Systems - Usually LF and SHF - now you can have a UHF RTLS that is extremely accurate and can easily control 250,000 sq feet on a single switch. Use the Contact Us for more information. 433 MHz Ultra High Frequency Active RFID Tags - up to 500 meter read range (1,500 feet) SkyRFID carries a complete line of 433 MHz readers and tags that can be used for many industrial,healthcare, mining, and other tracking and locating applications. 2.45 GHz. Super High Frequency Active RFID Tags - up to 100 meter read range (325 feet) There are several different modulations for 2.45 GHz. and you can also have real time location information from these active tags.

To read about RFID Tag Inlays, RFID Tag Design or RFID Tag Integrated Circuits just click on the link to go to the page or simply select your choice from the menu on the left of the screen.

RFID Gen 2 - What is it? - Smart RFID!


The following page is a White Paper RFID on the current RFID World and what it means. In order to understand what Gen 2 is we first have to look at what EPC and EPCglobal means. EPC is the new Electronic Product Code that replaces the older UPC (Universal Product Code) found on many item labels and is a set of numbers plus a bar code. Since UPC first started in 1963 it became out of date with today's global economies and EPC is the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) modern day equivalent of the older UPC. EPCglobal is the organization(s) that lead the development of industry global wide standards for the EPC to support the use of RFID in today's global, information hungry trading networks. EPCglobal organizations are in every country that is working towards making the EPC the end to end supply chain standard. Gen 2 or EPCglobal Class 1 Generation 2 defines the physical and logical requirements for a passive-backscatter, Interrogator (RFID Gen 2 Reader) Talks First (ITF), RFID system operating in the 860 MHz ~ 960 MHz frequency range. The system is comprised of Readers and Tags (also known as labels). The prior EPC Tag standards were known as Class 0 and Class 1. EPC C1 Gen 2 represents a major step in standardization, performance and quality. If you are having trouble understanding this, we recommend you enrol in our Free RFID 6 Lesson Introduction - 1 Lesson per day for 6 days to get a complete overview on RFID. Gen 2, EPC Gen 2, EPC C1G2 are the short names commonly used instead of "Electronic Product Code Class 1 Generation 2" standard. Gen 2 operates in the 860 MHz ~ 960 MHz frequency range and EPCglobal readers and EPC global tags can also operate over the entire frequency range allocated. Since there are a number of Organizations and Governing bodies that regulate the frequency and power capabilities (See RFID Frequencies and Transmission Power for more information) of this frequency range, no country can legally operate over the entire bandwidth. There are two basic frequencies of operation - 860 MHz ~ 868 MHz and 902 MHz ~ 928 MHz. North America is all 902 MHz ~ 928 MHz and has the highest transmission power specifications. In addition to operating in the 860 MHz ~ 960 MHz frequency range the Gen 2 standard also uses FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) which rapidly switches the carrier among many frequency channels during the radio signal transmission, reading tags at slightly different frequencies to get the best possible read from the tag. FHSS reads the tag on several different frequencies and then compares the results to determine if the read was successful or not.

For more detailed information about Gen 2 and the EPCglobal standards http://www.epcglobalinc.org Now that we have a basic understanding of Gen 2 we can look at the 2 main components the Gen 2 Readers and the Gen 2 Tags.

Gen 2 Readers

Gen 2 readers come in two main flavors - EPC Gen 2 Certified and Gen 2. Both types of readers are capable of reading and writing to Gen 2 tags. In some cases the readers may also read and write to the earlier Class 0 and Class 1 tags (ISO 18000 - 6B). EPC Gen 2 Certified are 860 MHz ~ 960 MHz readers that use the same O/S (operating system), the same low level reader command set (LLRP) and are totally interchangeable with other manufacturers without any changes. Simple swap in and swap out. The differences between manufacturers relate to enhanced functionalities not in the Gen 2 standard, enhanced read and write sensitivities, tag direction sensing and more. EPC Gen 2 Certified readers have 3 reader modes (single, multiple and dense) which are required by the Gen 2 standard for using the reader in different environmental situations. The EPC Gen 2 Certified readers are firmware upgradeable to ensure full compliance with all of the still unfinalized EPCglobal specifications. Gen 2 Certified readers also have 2 read modes - fast - over 1600 tags per second and slow - less than 600 tags per second. The read speeds are automatic and depend entirely on the actual read conditions for each tag. The high speed read is called FM0 Baseband and reads tags at a speed of 40 ~ 640 Kbits/s and the low speed read is called Miller and operates at 5 ~ 320 Kbits/s. Miller low speed is automatic when the reader senses a tag but can not read it using FM0 Baseband.

SkyRFID carries several Gen 2 Certified readers lines - Impinj and Sirit - two top world class readers with excellent hardware, software, service and support.
Gen 2 readers also operate in the 860 MHz ~ 960 MHz frequency and are capable of reading all of the standard Gen 2 tags. The major difference is that the reader and antenna control codes are not interchangeable between manufacturers and they may not be interchangeable between different models by the same manufacturer. Other differences are that they usually do not have the read rate of the Gen 2 Certified readers, their power ratings may be less and the pricing is much different usually 30 - 50% less than a Gen 2 Certified reader. SkyRFID OEM's a number of different manufacturers Gen 2 Readers and several of the reader lines have the same engine and therefore the same programming standard from the single port integrated reader/antenna to the 4 port reader. If your company is seeking to be fully EPCglobal compliant then you need Gen 2 Certified readers. If your company is looking to use the Gen 2 technology in a localized or

regional environment then the Gen 2 reader will provide everything that you need at a much lower cost. Gen 2 readers also come in several different power configurations and short and long range single antenna integrated reader/writer/antenna - perfect for the small to mid size coverage areas.

EPC Tag Classes


EPC tag capabilties are broken down into classes and each class has specific capabilties and is backward compatible to the preceeding class. Each higher class maintains the previous capabilities and characteristics and adds new capabilities.

EPC Class 0
EPC Class 0 is Generation 1 also called Gen 1. Generation 1 are tags that you can write once and read many times (WORM). This class of tag is factory programmable and not field programmable.

EPC Class 1
EPC Class 1 is Generation 1 and Generation 2, also called Gen 1 and Gen 2. Class 1 tags are WORM tags but can be read by readers from other companies. EPC Class 1 Generation 2 (EPC Gen 2 or just Gen 2) are WMRM (Write Many Read Many) tags that have a minimum memory of 256 bits of which 96 bits is for the EPC number. Gen 2 tags have better tag identification, which allows the reader to eliminate duplicate reads during multiple tag scans. Gen 2 tags can also be read by all Gen 2 readers due to vendor neutral design specifications. Gen 2 tags read up to 10 times faster than Gen 1 and provide extremely high read rates on tags - literally 100%. In addition the actual I/C (Integrated Circuit - that can contain over 50,000 transisters) is 2 to 3 times smaller than the earlier Gen 1! EPC Class 1 tags also have a function that can render the tag permanently non-responsive. Options to Class 1 tags are decommissioning and recommissioning of the tag, passwords protected access control and optional usery memory.

Gen 2 Tags
EPC Gen 2 tags come in several different flavours - EPCglobal - meaning that the tag can be read at any frequency between 860 MHz and 960 MHz, EPC Gen 2 860 MHz. ~ 868 MHz, also known as European Gen 2 and Gen 2 902 MHz ~ 928 MHz known as the North American Gen 2. An excellent flavour of the EPCglobal tag is an EPC World Tag - this world tag has a maximum read deviation of 1.5 dBi over the entire read spectrum from 860 ~ 960 MHz making it perfect for world/global solutions. Effectively you can use a single tag throughout the world that positively identifies the tagged item directly back to the source, hence end to end supply chain management and visibility. Gen 2 tags come in a very wide variety of types, shapes and sizes that are usually designed for a specific application. Generic longevity specifications for Gen 2 IC's are 40 - 50 year data retention and 100,000 write cycles A pallet tag can have a read distance of over 10 meters when attached to the cardboard or wooden case, but when attached to a metal shelving support the pallet tag has a read distance of zero to 0.5 meters. For attaching to metal objects a metal mount tag should be used and depending on the type of metal and the type of metal mount tag you can achieve a read range of 10 meters or more when attached to metal. Each metal object does provide a different metal mount tag requirement and depending on the overall environment the reader frequency may need to be changed in order to achive the best read rate and distance. Tags can also be orientation sensitive due to the inlays used in making the final tag. Some tags can only be read in a vertical or horizontal postion, some tags will only read on the edge, and then some tags can be read regardless of the orientation. Just because your friend uses XYZ tag does not mean that this is the best tag for your application. Each application needs to consider the read and write requirements and then look at the tag that meets those requirements. Temperature, read distance, working environment, storage environment, read angles, and more need consideration so you can then determine what Tag IC and antenna combination will work the best.

Using the right tag for your application can make the difference between a successful implementation or a failure! All Gen 2 tags contain the same basic memory features:

96 bit EPC number support (can and is used for many other purposes as has read write capabilities) 32 - 64 bit tag identifier (TID) - identifies the manufacturer of the tag and also has read write capabilities 32 bit kill password to permanently disable the tag 32 bit access password to lock the read write characteristics of the tag and also set the tag for disabling User memory - dependant on the manufacturer and can be as little as 0 bits to 64 bits and going as high as 2048 or more now that memory capabilities are being added to the tag IC's. To view some of the regular tag inlays (the IC, the antenna and the strap) view our RFID Tag Inlays web page.

EPC Class 2
EPC Class 2 tags are enhanced Gen 2 Class 1 tags. They contain all of the Class 1 features plus an entended TAG ID (TID), extended user memory, authenticated access control and additional features that will be defined in the Class 2 specification not yet completed.

EPC Class 3
EPC Class 3 tags have not yet been fully defined, but are battery-assisted passive tags somtimes called semi-passive tags in UHF Gen 2. Anticipated features are a power source to supply power to the tag and/or its sensors and or sensors with optional data logging capabilities. These new Class 3 tags will still communicate passively, meaning they will require a reader/interrogator to initiate communications and send information to the readder using either backscatter or load -modulation techniques (For a better understanding of RFID communications we recommend you take our 6 free lesson RFID course)

EPC Class 4
EPC Class 4 is active tag technology. The UHF tag will contain a battery and can initiate communications with a reader or with another tag. Class 4 active tags will not interfere with the communications protocls of Class 1, 2 or 3 tags. Class 4 tags with contain an EPC identifier, and extended Tag ID, authenticated access control, a power source, communicaitons via autonomous transmitter, have optional user memory and optional sensors with or without data logging capabilities. This Class 4 tag is still in the early definition stage. We hope this information has assisted you in the understanding of Gen 2 and how it can relate to your needs.

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