Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) Antenna and System

Design
Markus Laudien ( ANSOFT Corp)
Application Engineer
 RFID antenna and system design

Agenda
Z Requirements of UHF-RFID systems and
limitations of analytical treatment
Z Reader antenna
Z Transponder unit ( chip, package, antenna )
Z Field-Simulation of a whole transmission setup.
Z Integration of nonlinear components into the
transmission setup.
Z Conclusions
 What is RFID (Radio Frequency
IDentification)

Wireless identifications of piece goods

Reader:
Communication with
Tags, tracking of piece
goods
Frequencies of operation : status :

LF: 125 kHz ; 13.56 MHz ( near field coupling ) established, mass
production, short
range (typ <1 m )

UHF: 433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz , 2.45 GHz market introduction,
( far field operation ) larger range ( <8m)
 Block diagram of an RFID transmission
system
antenna
ASK Transponder IC

RECEIVER
DEMODULATOR

READER
LOGIC

SYSTEM
MEMORY
PSK or TRANSMITTER
MODULATOR (READ/WRITE)

ASK
•constant near field
conditions at the Variable near field The transponder circuit is
reader (stationary) conditions. powered by the Incident field at
•Sometimes variable •Change of material the antenna
near field conditions properties
(mobile reader) •Neighboring transponders.

The operating distance and system reliability in most cases is given by the forward link
which determines the power supply of the transponder. The backward link is mostly not
critical due to the high receiver sensitivity
 Link Budget

Due to the indirect power supply it is essential to make a careful calculation of the power budget.
Safety margins have to be included
Example:
Transmitter
33dBm Contributions from the transmitter and the reader
33dBm output
antenna are relatively easy to evaluate, however,
in the operational environment the transmission
Antenna(Omni)
Antenna (circ) +5dB setup and antenna are subject to strong variations
5dBi gain
1.4dB gain -3dB due to the strongly variable environment.
3dB Polasation-loss
0.5 dB mismatch
35dBm

Free Space Modern systems are targeted for communication

Transmission
-40dB up to a few hundred tags thus requiring good
-40 dB loss -5dBm reliability

Antenna (Omni)
Strongly varying region: Dependence on the
0dBi distance, objects in the vicinity of the
1 dB Gain
1 dB matching loss
-5dBm transponder antenna, material variation

Receiver The use of RF simulation tools in all

-14 dBm sensitivity
-5dBm
parts of the system helps to predict the
i.e. safety margin range of reliable operation
of approx 9 dB
Design of transponders for RFID Systems

System Specification

Simulation potential ( system )

Selection of Hardware ( Reader, Chips )

Decision for manufacturing technique Simulation sensitivity towards process

(printing, etching … ) and assembly
process; possible size of label, …
Packaging parasitics, statistical

Antenna design Parametric antenna studies & opti-

misation, increase of bandwidth
Prototype assembly of transponder sensitivity analysis
( chip & antenna )

Simulation of simplified transmission

Test under „laboratory conditions“
between reader and tag
(only if reader ant model available )
Customer Samples
.
. Modeling of a „real“ situation with
Test under „real“ conditions ( customer) reader , many tags and other
objects in between
RELIABILITY ???
 Theoretical estimation of the transmission
distance ( Friis equation)

DISTANCE = R
TRANSMIT ANTENNA
WAVELENGTH OF SIGNAL = λ RECEIVE ANTENNA
GAIN* = GT GAIN* = GR
Polarization = ρT Polarization = ρR
PR ⎛ λ ⎞
( )( )
2 REFL. COEFF = ΓR
REFL. COEFF = ΓT
=⎜ ρ • ρ − Γ − Γ
2
⎟ T R T
2 2
G G ˆ ˆ 1 1
PT ⎝ 4πR ⎠
R T R

Analytical approaches like the Friis equation assume

•Non-disturbed near field conditions (no proximity of dielectric and metal

objects )
•Known antenna characteristics
•No diffraction and reflection effects

… this is not the case in most real RFID situations which means
that this is a very rough estimation. A full system simulation
including reader , tags and the environment is needed.
 Reader-Antenna

A reader antenna in most cases uses circular polarization in order to avoid potential
strong polarization losses due to a linear polarization of the transponder antenna

With HFSS & Optimetrics different quantities (e.g. S11, axial ratio, field quantities ) can be
improved in one single optimization setup:

Goal quantity calculation range Goal Value Weighting

 Reader-antenna

Optimization Process ( at 915 MHz )

Model similar to: L. Boccia, G. Amendola, G. Di Massa: Design a high-precision Antenna for GPS ; Microwaves&RF online
January 2003
 Reader-antenna: Results

Return Loss
Gain

Axial Ratio vs.

Realized gain ( Phi vs Theta polarisation ) Theta
Reader-antenna: E-Field and mesh

Mag E-Field ( log scale, vertical excitation )

 Transponder: Antenna Matching of the tag

Mainly three elements are influencing the matching characteristic of an UHF RFID-Tag:

Influence of the
tag designer
on performance
1) Chip Impedance: given by input circuit,
technology, power level of incident signal -
2) Package: Depending on the carrier technology
different package techniques may apply like wire
bonds, Flip Chip and SOC housing. Due to parasitic
behaviour this part ís not neglectable. Here the user 0
has a certain amount of influence

3) Antenna: The antenna impedance is given by the

shape of the antenna, the used materials and ++
changes in the environment. Here the user has the
largest influence to adapt it to a specific application
Transponder: Antenna Matching of the tag

Antenna matching for conjugate

complex impedance of chip AND
package

The power efficiency of the transponder is

strongly influenced by the antenna losses
and the package losses

P Chip
P Chip = η Chip =
+ P Chip + P Loss
relative
P Antenna
 Transponder: input impedance of the chip
UHF transponder, which uses the energy from the incident field, exhibits a cascaded
rectifier switch on behalf to the antenna. There are many different topologies that have
been extensively examined *,**:

These circuit parts (if necessary an additional overvoltage protection) affect

considerably the chip impedance, which is seen by the antenna. This impedance
depends on the input power.

*Z. Zhu, B. Jamali, P.Cole: Brief Comparison of Different Rectifier structures for HF and UHF RFID ; (Phase II, Draft version 0.0 )
University of Adalaide 24.04.2004

**Qiang Li, Yfeng Han, Hao Min, feng Zhou : Fabrication and Modeling of SChottky Diode Integrated in CMOS Process; State Key Lab
of ASIC& System; Fudan University, Shang Hai 200433
 Transponder: input impedance of the chip

Example of a cascaded input circuit of a transponder IC . Today's common CMOS

processes allow the integration of Schottky diodes.
The input power at 915 MHz is swept within the relevant input power range of -40 dBm...
+10 dBm.

The most critical range is, depending upon the technology, at the minimum power levels
which still allow an operation of the transponder circuit (approx. -23 dBm... -10 dBm).
Input circuit, antenna, and receiver should be optimized for the range of the lowest
permitted power levels.
Depending on the circuit topology and input power level Re (Z_chip) and Im ( Z_chip ) may change
20 % and more within the range of operation condition.
 Transponder: resulting chip impedance

Impedance match:
CMOS technology of the UHF transponders provides low real part of impedance to the
antenna (approx.. 5... 30 ohms) and a high reactive part around -200... -500 ohms.

The Smith plot above shows that typical output impedance of the transponder chips lie in
the marked range. Due to the low Re(Z) the matching to the antenna requires some
inductive series element(s) in combination with shunt capacitance(s). Matched circuits are
sensitive towards
•power dependent changes of the chip impedance
•Parasitic contributions of the package
 Transponder: contribution of the package

Different package technology have a strong influence on impedance matching and

have to be taken into account by simulation or measurement:

Bondwires Flip Chip TSSOP

Simplified equivalent circuit of different packages

 Transponder: contribution of the package

Example*: mounting on a label antenna in flip chip technique

Metallized bumps on the chip surface are pressed into the metallisation on the tag carrier.
It can happen that overlaps between bumps and chip metallisation are forming a significant
capacititance due to an overlap.

*: pictures with permission of Philips AG / Gratkorn ( Austria )

 Transponder: contribution of the package

Example: mounting in flip chip technique, Simulation of parasitic effects with HFSS

Extraction of parasitic elements

with 3D Simulation in HFSS,

Extraction shows a sensitivity

towards
Change of position, angle of
mounting, distance between chip
metallisation and laben substrate.
 Transponder: Antenna Matching

As the UHF labels use mostly printed or etched metallisation almost no design uses
discrete components. This means the matching will be done within the antenna.
Several antenna topologies are common which match to the complex chip impedance.

Usual antenna topologies are e.g.:

These antenna topologies mostly

contain an inductive sections close to
the chip and one or more capacitive
sections
Position of the chip
 Transponder: Antenna Matching

This subject is very suitable for the use of 2.5D or 3D field simulation tools, which
make the adjustment by parametric variation of the antenna geometry. It is important
to merge the complex chip impedance directly into the model.

Example of a parametric variation in HFSS:

mperiod The material of the smart

width card (thickness:
thick_card) can also be a
variable selected based on
the material of the carrier
Ysize_carr which is under it
msize (xsize_carr, ysize_carr,
thick_carr)

distbar

Xsize_carr
 Transponder: Antenna Matching

Tuning the antenna on an initial configuration (e.g. a certain carrier material with well-
known permittivity and loss tangent): A variation of one of the sizes is connected with a
simultaneous change of the resonant frequency and antenna impedance

Variation of m_period:

Effect on the resonant frequency Effect on re ( Z_ant )

 Transponder: Antenna Matching
Variation of load_bar distance:

The variation “load_bar" of the distance can be used for the variation of the resonant
frequency and by Re(Z_ant). By variation of two (not completely independent ) parameters
it is quite simple to achieve the desired resonance frequency and a good matching:

Parameter Enlargement Reduction

msize, mperiod f_res down f_res up

dist_bar f_res up f_res down
w f_res down f_res up
 Transponder antenna: sensitivity towards
changes in the proximity of the antenna
For a particular configuration (e.g. a 5mm thick mother board from PA) the transponder
antenna shows a very strong sensitivity of the resonance behavior in relation to variations
(e.g. the thickness or the material properties):

It is interesting to ask, from a system point of view, how such a change affects the
receiver behavior, especially considering the nonlinear elements within the
transmission circuit.
 Sensitivity towards changes of the antenna
and in the proximity of the antenna

Many more scenarios in the near field of a tag antenna can be simulated

Effect of humidity
absorption of the
carrier

Metal objects in
the proximity Near Field interaction
with other resonant
tags

Material changes Variation of conductor

of carrier (tolerances ) thickness and width
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID
transmission setup in HFSS (64 bit)
Assumed is a close-to-reality model of a wall-mounted 915 MHz reader antenna and at a
distance of approx. 2.20 m a pallet with 12 transponder antennas. This setup is simulated
with HFSS 10.
Reader antenna with •Total of 14 Ports
two polarisation setups •Frequency range from 800 MHz..1GHz

Distance from Pallet with 12

reader to the center boxes ( PS-foam)
of the pallet approx.. and RFID
2.20 m transponders

Detail image of two neighboring

transponder antennas
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID
transmission setup
Computation on 2 GHz dual Opteron PC: used memory: 4.5 GB RAM
Computing time approx. 3.5h ( including 8
adaptive passes to a convergence of <2 % )

Computing time may be further reduced

by:

•Increased Multiprocessing
•Performing the solution at a very small
bandwidth ( e.g. 914 MHz… 916 MHz )
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID
transmission setup:

Typical transmission losses between reader antenna and transponders tags (S-parameters).

Variation of transmission-loss
at 915 MHz between -35dB and
-52 dB
Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system :

Integration of the transmission circuit into an overall simulation with nonlinear input
circuits at the transponders

TX P_tag1
Reader 3D Simulation
of the distance
between reader P_tag2
vertical antenna and
polarisation transponder .
Φ .
mag .

horizontal
polarisation P_tagn

The direct link of the simulated transmission setup with nonlinear input circuits of
the tags allows a very realistic estimations of the receiving conditions ( input DC
power at the different transponders: P_tagn )
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system :

An equivalent circuit of an RFID input section ( under non-disclosure agreement )

was provided by Philips AG / (Gratkorn , Austria) to study the effects of the power
dependent receiving conditions of an ensemble of RFID tags. The model has been
transferred to an encrypted format.

e d
y pt
cr
n
e ta
da

Equivalent circuit of the flip chip mounting was accomplished by measurements

and simulations with HFSS. The modulation input for FSK transmission is not used here.
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system
EM - cosimulation:
Link between circuit simulator ( NEXXIM ) and 3D field simulator (HFSS)

Circular polarisation accomplished

by two splitted signals with 90°
phase offset
"dynamic link": i.e. use of the
parameters of the 3D model and
the according results within the
circuit simulator
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system-
polarization effects

Feed of the antenna in horizontal polarization ( equivalent with orientation of the tag
antennas ). As no over-voltage protection is included and the distance is quite short the
voltages are somehow higher than in real cases.

Reader operating frequency

 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system-
polarization effects

Circular polarisation vertical polarization

This scenario clearly shows the advantage of a circular polarized reader antenna:
While linear polarized reader antennas may provide a higher power level in case of
polarisation- alignment is may also cause low power level if polarisation of reader
and tag are perpendicular.
The effects of polarisazion studies can be accomplished within the circuit simulator
by a combining the two linear polarisation contents of the reader
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system-
reader-power sweep & frequency sweep :
DC input power at three transponder chips at varying transmitting power of the reader ( a)
and varying frequency ( b) :
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system
variance of geometry:
Parametric change of geometry in the vicinity of the tag-antennas:
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system
time domain analysis :
Time domain simulation of ASK modulated reader signal ( Cosimulation System & NEXXIM )

868MHz RFID ASK test ( one arbitrary tag )

tag_in

SP SP

output U2
tag_2p2 tag_out

1 8 AWGN Input_PAD RChip

2 9 SP
3 10
4 11

power splitter 5 12

90° shift
6
7
13
14
NEXXIM subcircuit
ref
of transponder input
0 circuit
CCONST

ASK modulator 90% modulation,

50 % duty cycle
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system–
time domain analysis:
Time domain simulation of ASK modulated reader signal ( Cosimulation System & NEXXIM )
Charging of the buffer C of the passive transponder
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID system
proposed approach:
Most recent approaches for UHF-RFID systems are based on trial and error or on the
simulation of some single parts within the system.
Supposed the reader antenna geometry and equivalent transponder circuit are available the
simulation of a whole scenario is feasible with Ansoft simulation tools:
3D Simulation
of reader
Antenna (HFSS ) Simulation of complete 3D
system setup including
piece goods in the environ-
Optimisation of ment
Parametric studies
transponder ( HFSS, parametrized com-
of environmental
Antenna (HFSS + ponents transferred by copy
changes ( HFSS,
Optimetrics ) and paste )
Optimetrics )

Extraction of Cosimulation EM
Packaging para-
sitics ( Q3D, HFSS) Equivalent circuit and circuit ( HFSS,
of transponder input NEXXIM, DESIGNER)
( chip vendor)
 Simulation of a realistic UHF RFID
transmission setup:

Conclusions:

• Todays solver efficiency of HFSS and circuit cosimulation with DESIGNER

allow the simulation of a realistic UHF-RFID system within a few hours.

• Semi-analytical statements based on “ideal” antenna parameters ( like

directivity, polarisation ) are not always reliable if many other parts are in the
vicinity of the antennas.

• Even transient simulations of such scenarios and the integration of a

system simulation for the characterisation of ASK/PSK modulation, BER etc.
can be made.

• The availability of 64 bit solver technology on LINUX and WINDOWS

significantly shifts the complexity limit for such simulation scenarios.