RFID consist of these main Components:

 Reader or Interrogator.

 Tag or Transponder.

The reader (interrogator or scanner) is a device that is used to

read or write the information to and from the tag. In addition,
it is used to activate a passive tag.

An RFID Reader consists of several components:

1) A coupling element (Antenna).
2) A module (transmitter and receiver)
3) A control unit

It has three main functions:

a) Energizing
b) Demodulating
c) Decoding

It can be converted the signal which come from the tag into
form suitable for another system such as computer or
programmable logic controller(pic) .

 Components:

Antenna 1)
Every RFID reader is equipped with one or more antennas.
The antenna can be inner part of the reader, or it can be a
separate
device , using it in larger systems .
It is used to transmitted /received the RF between reader
&tag.
2) Receiver & transmitter

a)Receiver

The main function of the receiver to restore the original signal from

the RF of tag.

when the tag send the RF to reader ,the antenna will be captured the

RF which containing on the information , ID ,and some noise .

The band pass filter using to removed most of the signals outside of

the band of interest, in the next step the signal passing in the

amplifier to raised the gain & improved the B.W ,and then presented

to a mixer, which is mixed with a CW signal from the local oscillator at

a constant frequency and amplitude, to convert a signal from one

frequency to another while preserving the modulation information

contained in the signal , in the next stage the carrier Will be

removed , and the conversion from analog to digital bit stream

describing the baseband signal, the result ,the information signal will be

used to another system (computer, PIC, ... etc

b)Transmitter:

The main function of the transmitter to make the modulation for signal
which containing on the energy and identify ID to sending to tag.

This happens when the ID of tag is the same ID of reader ,If

successful the check ,the tag backscattering the data to reader.

3) control unit

It is important for dealing with the various processes

 An RFID reader has main three functions:

1)Energizing:

Is one of function of reader to powered the tag so that it can

send its information to the Reader to read it.

2)Demodulating:

Demodulation is the act of extracting the original information-bearing

signal from a modulated carrier wave to able reading the information

of tag.

3)Decoding:

It is used to decode incoming signals can be interpreted to deal with

it.

Tag (Transponder) is a tiny radio device. It is composed of a

microchip (typically less than half a millimeter in size) containing
identifying information, an antenna that transmits this data
wirelessly to a reader, and a power system.

The power system can be completely powered by the incoming RF

signal, in which case the tag is known as a passive tag.
Alternatively, the tag’s power system can have a battery, in which
case the tag is known as an active tag.

The whole device can then be encapsulated in different materials,

which is dependent upon its intended usage. Moreover, some of
the higher-specification tags can give the authentication and
cryptographic protection of their contents, though using the
password protection limits the use, and accuracy of controlled
systems.

There are many types of tags which have different characteristics:

• Range, which can vary from few millimeters up to several

meters;

• Holding capacity which can be from a few bits and up to

several kilobytes.

Some of these properties are the result of particular RFID

technology employed and other are related to format, size,
packaging, and considerations of cost ;these together affect the
design trade-offs.

The RFID tags consist of several component:

1) Antenna: it used to received/transmitted the RF with

reader.

2) Module (receiver & transmitter)

If the ID checking true in the tag respect to ID in the

reader ,the Transmitter of the system which sends the tag ID to
the reader, after making modulation for the signal data , in most
case using the transistor to modulated signals.

receiver which make demodulation for RF signal of reader, the

envelop detector used for this function .
3) Control unit

In most case consist of a silicon chip.

The control unit has some computing capabilities limited to simple

logical operations controls all other blocks of the system, and
storing the data and ID .

RFID tag systems function on diverse frequency bands .These

Tags can be classified according to their frequency:

1. Tags with a low frequency (125-134 kHz)

They have a short reading distance and lower cost. They are
often used in access cards, safe security access, asset tracking
and animal identification applications.

2) Tags with high frequency (13.56 MHz)

Suitable for small sized data. It can be read at short distances
up to several meters. Not suitable for reading near metallic
objects. This frequency is best suited for RFID applications in
libraries.

3) Tag UHF (ultra-high frequency) (860 MHz -960 MHz)

These tags are not used commercially as they have a higher cost
per unit. They have a high reading range and are used for
applications such as rail cars, trucks and collection of fees
automatically at passing cars on highways.

The types of tags respected to power source:

1) Active tags:

Active tags are tags that contain a battery, which means that they
provide a much more robust communication channel.
An active tag uses its on-board power supply to transmit its data
to a reader. The on-board electronics can contain
microprocessors, and sensors. Moreover, active tags can operate
in particularly challenging
environments such as locations with significant radio frequency
pollution caused by electric machinery.
2) Passive tags:
A passive tag is an RFID tag that does not contain a battery, it
is powered from electromagnetic field generated by reader ,
After obtaining the energy, it can be transmitted back data .
Because of this will be the reading distance is limited.

The major disadvantages of a passive RFID tag are:

• short distances reading ,

• not include sensors that can use electricity for power.
The advantages of a passive tag are:
• Small size because it does not contain a battery
• long lifetime
• Inexpensive

There are two basic types of chips available on RFID tags,

Read-Only and Read-Write:

1) Read only chips can be programmed (written) just once in its

lifetime , The information on read-only chips cannot be changed.
This type of tag is good for small applications only, but is
impractical when tag data needs to be customized based on the
application.

2) Read-Write chip: it can be reprogrammed or rewritten a large

number of times. The user can add information to the tag or
write over existing information when the tag is within range of
the reader. Applications for these may include field service
maintenance. This type of tag is most expensive to produce.
 How energized the passive tags

RFID tag may be of one of two types. Active RFID tags have
their own power source, but the passive tags not have battery
,and it is powered by energy harvested from the reader
transmitted carrier power
When the passive tag passes in the area of reader, the voltage
is generated in its antenna coil, It is an AC voltage, so it
must be rectified to DC signal, for this purpose a rectifier is
used in circuit of the tag.

The result of the dc voltage stored in a capacitor ,which is

used to store the energy produced by the antenna, providing the
smooth voltage required. Otherwise, few fluctuations in the
strength of the coupling would lead to variations in the voltage,
and thus cause unreliable results.
When the voltage in capacitor is up to a certain extent, it causes
activation of the chip, the Tag will be able to create or modify
the data and send it to the reader.

 Modulation scheme
The modulation have many types ; ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying),
PSK (phase Shift Keying),FSK(frequency Shift Keying).they
should be chosen carefully to be simple and power efficient.

In term the forward link ,the ASK-PWM (Amplitude Shift Keying

& Pulse Width Modulation) is most basic and easier to implement,
but it is prone to the effects the channel noise.
the purpose of using the ASK-PWM , that the ASK sends the
bits as a short gaps in the RF signal, so to differentiate between
logic ‘1’ and logic ‘0’,so the PWM is used for this function.

In the reverse link ,The Backscattering is the most suitable

modulation ,since it has a low power modulation scheme.
In backscattering ,the ASK is much simpler and more efficient
than the PSK ,but PSK is better than ASK in terms of power, the
PSK is not commonly used in low cost applications. because the
power of tag is limited .

PSK Has the advantages that uses two phases to represent 0 and
1,and that more robust than ASK.