Introduction

You will design your RFID system to meet application performance requirements. Generally speaking, RFID is a means to identify an object by using radio frequency transmission, which suggests that communication is involved in the identification process. The communication takes place between a reader and a tag, which should be tuned to the same frequency. RFID systems are available at different frequencies. To select the right frequency for your system, you need to understand how the various performance parameters, such as read range, tag response time, and storage capacity, depend on the frequency. This understanding will also help you select the correct hardware components for your RFID system, such as readers, tags, and antennas. The tags are attached to the items that need to be identified and tracked, whereas readers will be mounted at places from where they will read the tags.

So, the core issue in this chapter is how to design your RFID system. To put our arms around this issue, we will explore three avenues: selecting operating frequency, selecting hardware components, and selecting mount points for readers.

Understanding RFID Frequency Ranges

A tag and a reader use radio waves of a certain frequency, called the operating frequency, to communicate with each other. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves that cover part of the electromagnetic spectrum of frequencies, called the radio frequency spectrum. Because RFID systems generate and radiate the electromagnetic waves that fall along the radio frequency spectrum, they are justifiably classified as radio systems and...