Published June 1, 2014 | Version v1
Conference paper Open

An Enhanced-range RFID Tag Using an Ambient Energy Powered Reflection Amplifier

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 2. Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)

Description

A great challenge in UHF RFID systems consists of increasing their operating range. In this work, a circuit topology consisting of a reflection amplifier and a passive coupler is proposed to both amplify the input signal to the tag as well as the backscattered signal towards the reader. System analysis is provided to estimate the performance requirements of the proposed circuit. The amplifier is optimized in order to maximize its gain while minimizing its dissipated power, thus allowing for low-power operation by using ambient energy harvesting devices such as solar cells. The circuit is compatible with commercial UHF RFID tags and is implemented using low-cost inkjet printing fabrication. Prototypes of the various circuit components are fabricated and evaluated demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed system. Interesting results are showcased for tag efficiency improvement through such non-conventional front-end designs.

Notes

Grant numbers : This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER funds through the project SOSRAD (TEC2012-39143). This work was also supported by the COST Action IC1301 "Wireless Power Transmission for Sustainable Electronics (WIPE)," and the National Science Foundation.© 2014 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.

Files

An Enhanced-range RFID Tag Using an Ambient.pdf

Files (947.5 kB)

Name Size
md5:b80033495566f31d618e76a774e61bf5
947.5 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Funding

European Commission
SWAP - Symbiotic Wireless Autonomous Powered system 251557