RFID chip technology

What Exactly Is an RFID Chip? An RFID chip is a microchip that transmits data to a reader via radio waves. It is the smallest component of an RFID tag, but it is the most important because it contains the memory for data storage.

The chip is mostly in the center and is surrounded by a coiled wire called an antenna. The antenna is in charge of transmitting radio waves from the chip to the reader. When the tag is activated, it emits electromagnetic waves containing the necessary information.

RFID chips are used in access management, security access, library systems, time tracking (via electronic logging), identification documents, and medical records, among other applications.

RFID Chip Evolution

In 1982, Harry Stockman proposed that if every object had a unique identifier, radio waves could be used to identify and track specific items. This concept would later transform inventory management and identification systems. Later that year, he published his findings in the technical journal IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

Professor Sandy Pentland and Researcher David Brock (who coined the term "RFID") founded the Auto-ID Lab at MIT in 1994. Their research resulted in the formation of EPCglobal Incorporated, an organization tasked with globalizing RFID technology. They developed the EPC numbering system (electronic product code). Because of their expanded functionality and enhanced security features, such as encryption, EPC tags were designed to completely replace barcodes.

Companies like Gillette, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, and UPS began testing RFID technology in their supply chain management setups by the end of 2000. In 2002 alone, more than 110 million items were RFID-tagged for inventory purposes, with data transmitted to electronic hand-held devices carried by warehouse workers across the floor.

How RFID Chips Work

RFID chips (tags) are available in two varieties: active and passive. The difference is that active chips have their own power sources, whereas passive chips get their energy from a reader's electromagnetic field.

The chips are made up of unique integrated circuits that can be detected by radio waves from a reader device. Once activated, the RFID chip will send data back to the reader. A reader can send radio waves to the tag's antenna from up to 100 meters away.

RFID chips adhere to certain standards that allow them to communicate with one another. As a result, regardless of the manufacturer, a single device will read any standard-compliant tags nearby.

RFID Chip Subsystems

An RFID chip is made up of an integrated circuit (typically silicon) packaged in a small case with an antenna. This is typically shaped like a small grain of rice or sand.

An RFID device is made up of three parts:

The label (chip)

The transmitter

The reader is

The tag contains information that is unique to each item, and the transponder receives energy from the reader unit via electromagnetic induction and returns it via radio waves.

The goal of this electronic transaction between reader and transponder is to quickly identify objects by providing their electronic product code (EPC) number as well as other information stored on the memory chip of the tag.

RFID Chip Capability

An RFID system is comprised of two units, one at each end of the communication link.

The reader is linked to a database via an access point, which is typically a computer or a programmable logic controller (PLC).

The chip functions as a transponder, storing and/or forwarding information to the reader as needed. Communication between reader and transponder is bidirectional: either side can initiate it.

Communication between the reader unit and the transponder is accomplished through electromagnetic induction using high-frequency radio signals that can pass through various materials such as plastic, wood, and concrete with no loss of signal intensity. The RFID tag detects this energy signal and uses it to power its internal power supply, extending its transmission range.

Reader devices are part of a larger system that includes the host computer to which they are connected. In almost all cases, this device is linked to other computers as well as various databases from which it can extract information relevant to its role in an access control network via wireless networks.

When a door reader reads a tag, for example, it not only identifies and authenticates the user, but it also stores their specific permissions and time signatures. This aids in the monitoring of human traffic entering restricted areas. It also ensures accountability among visitors and employees.

RFID Chip Varieties

RFID chips are currently available in two varieties on the market:

Chip made of silicon. A microchip is encapsulated in a thin layer of epoxy resin before being inserted into a small plastic or glass tag.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) (or PCB). By design, this chip contains no electrical components. Instead, it is made up of an etched copper antenna and an adjoining computer chip.

RFID chips can be implemented as silicon or PCB technology in some cases, depending on their intended use.

RFID readers, like RFID chips, come in a variety of styles. A label printer, for example (which may also include an antenna for data transmission) can only print new labels for previously identified items. Pallet scanners, on the other hand (used for high-speed stock control), resemble ceiling-mounted scanners and use long-range antennas to identify tags across large areas at high speeds.

RFID Chip Innovation

A thin sheet of glass or Mylar substrate material is used to make an RFID chip. It is coated with a unique magnetic alloy that allows it to respond to very low frequency (VLF) signals in the 13.56 MHz range.

Most reader devices provide this VLF signal in addition to sending the carrier signal via the transmitting antenna to activate the tag's amplifier circuit. An RFID chip would be "asleep" until woken up by incoming signals from readers if this activation function did not exist.

RFID Chip Recognition

Authentication is the primary function of identification: confirming that people and goods are who they claim to be. Three factors must be balanced in this process:

Privacy entails ensuring that people cannot be identified unless they have been granted access to specific resources.

Security entails preventing unauthorized individuals from gaining access.

Convenience entails making the identification process as simple and quick as possible.

RFID chip identification is quick and easy. Every authorized individual must wear an RFID tag with all of their personal information stored in the chip. An RFID reader will scan the tag, receive data, and compare it to an existing database before granting them access. If they match, the person is granted access, and vice versa.

Items with embedded RFID tags pass through one or more reader devices as they move through an exit point in a supply chain management system.

The tag's unique serial number is transmitted to the reader each time, where it is decoded into its original data, translated into human-readable form, and then stored in a central database. This procedure is the same regardless of the reader device used.

RFID Chip Safety

When an electromagnetic signal is transmitted, it travels through space in the form of a wave. This concept underpins all wireless communication systems, including cordless phones, FM radio, cellular telephony, and a variety of other long and short-range communication schemes that we use on a daily basis.

The strength and direction of any given signal will vary depending on a number of factors, including:

The transmitting antenna's power output

The separation between the transmitter and the receiver

Obstacles like walls and furniture

Conditions in the atmosphere

Other RF transmitters are present.

RFID signals have low power and face many penetration challenges when they come into contact with sources of interference. As a result, they require close proximity to the reader in order for information to be passed (usually up to 100 meters).

Furthermore, the information stored in the RFID chip is encrypted. As a result, unless they steal the specifically assigned RFID reader, cybercriminals can access the information.

RFID Chip Applications

RFID chips can be used in a variety of applications, including:

Customer identification that is automated

Toll collection systems that are automated

Electronic boarding passes/e-tickets

System of access control

Robotic navigation systems

Management of the supply chain

Article monitoring and security tagging

RFID works well in open spaces with few physical obstacles to interfere with signal transmission; however, it performs poorly when passing through walls, floors, or even tightly packed goods. This explains why RFID hasn't completely replaced barcodes in situations where items are stacked on top of each other.

RFID, on the other hand, is ideal for tagging large objects that are unlikely to move around too much during transportation (such as vehicles). They have more storage capacity than barcodes, making them ideal for tagging goods that require a large amount of data for identification.

An RFID tag, for example, can store information such as the last stock date, the last purchase, the manufacturing date, and the batch number, among other things. A barcode, on the other hand, is vulnerable to environmental degradation and stores little information. Because of these factors, RFID technology has largely replaced barcodes in many applications.