Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has revolutionized the tracking practice for many industries, as it offers a quicker way to track multiple items over long distances. RFID is a highly versatile technology with applications throughout tracking businesses – from baggage handling, controlling manufacturing processes to real-time tracking of inventory. While it can offer considerable benefits, it does come with some limitations and challenges, such as read range limitations, sensitivity to the types and shape of surrounding materials, orientation, and positioning, etc.
To successfully optimize RFID deployment and take full advantage of what this technology has to offer, careful system design must be undertaken with focus on antennas and the surrounding electromagnetic environment.
HFWorks Modeling of RFID Systems
To contribute to this research effort, we used our electromagnetic virtual prototyping software, HFWorks, to study the effect of metals, liquids, and dielectric materials on the tag performance. Moreover, we examined the read range of the tag under various conditions.
The Performance of Tag and Reader Antennas
An RFID system consists of a tag and a reader. The tag is composed of a chip and an antenna. The design of the tag and reader antennas was obtained from the two journal papers [1] and [2]. For the tag, NXP SL3S1213 UCODE G2iL chip is used. The IC chip has a power sensitivity of -18 dBm (- 48 dB).
