Application Note on

RFID Simulations
Overview
Operating Principles
Inductive Coupling
Microwave Coupling
Coupling to Circuit Simulation
Customer Application
Summary

1 Franz Hirtenfelder/ CST GmbH www.cst.com

 Overview
Radio Frequency IDentification

• Fundamental tool for Automatic Identification:

authentication, ticketing, access control, supply
management, parking, payment, vending, surveillance

• Advantages:
– Contains more information than e.g. Barcodes
– Can be read/write
– Contactless ID (in contrast to phone or bank cards)
– May become cheap mass product (e.g. in supermarkets)

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 General Principle

Data
Reader RFID tag
Energy

Typical characteristics of RFID:

• Tag is a passive device, energy is transmitted from reader

• Distance mm to 10m (typically ~20 cm)
• Contains silicon chip, can be read only or read/write
• Responds with modulated signal
• Mostly printed (planar) structures
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 Frequencies

125/134 kHz Animal identification, industrial applications,

very robust, low data transmisstion (64 bit)

7.4 - 8.8 MHz Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)

13.56 MHz "Smart Labels" widely used for product/article ID

868 - 928 MHz Logistics,…

2.4 GHz Vehicle identification, electronic toll collection

5.8 GHz electronic toll collection in Europe

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 Operating Principles
• Inductive Coupling (125 kHz – 15 MHz)

– Very small dimensions compared to l

– Coupling only through magnetic field
– Tag typically a planar coil

• Microwave Coupling (868 MHz – 5.8 GHz)

– typically a regular antenna

(e.g. planar folded dipole)
– Matching network important to keep
antenna small
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 Inductive Coupling
RFID tags are mostly planar coils with small dimensions compared to l
Hexahedral or tetrahedral F-Solver are typically most suited.
Simple Example for At 13.56 MHz Measurement: (7.15 + 398i) W
13.56 MHz Simulation: (7.0 + 395i) W

RLC equivalent circuit

CST MWS simulation

Imaginary part
of impedance

RLC parallel equivalent circuit fits

broadband to simulation results

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with courtesy and permission of Legic Identsystems AG
 Reader &Tag
Inductive Coupling: 13.56 MHz
Complex Example for
13.56 MHz

Reader

Port1 and 2

Port3

Tag

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 Close-Up look at Reader-feeding

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 Close-Up look at Tag

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 Circuit in CST DESIGN STUDIO

Reader+Tag

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 Simulation of a realistic
multi-tag / reader environment
• Design of Tag and Reader
• Microwave coupling (900 MHz)
• 3D EM Simulation with CST‘s „Complete Technology“
using Time-Domain and Frequency Domain solvers
• Coupling to circuit analysis with CST DESIGN STUDIO™

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 MicroWaveCoupling: TAG

http://www.alientechnology.com/docs/Gen2_TagFam_datsht.pdf
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 S-Parameter
|S11| in dB, unmatched

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 Matching Network in DesignStudio™

Parameters to optimize

Goal definition

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 Surface-Current and Farfield f=900 MHz
Current Distribution before matching
phi-component

Current Distribution after matching

theta-component
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 Parameter Study of a warped Tag
The impact on S-Parameters and
farfields are investigated for
warped tags. The conformal radius
is varied in a range of 25 – 200 mm

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 Parameter Study of a warped Tag
Farfield at 1.15 GHz

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 Geometry of the Reader
A simple, vertically polarized patch-type reader antenna was used as reader antenna.
The feed is designed as a simple coax-connector line.

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 Reader: Optimization
Parametric model setup

offset

patchsize a

Goal=S11 min at 900 MHz

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 Reader: Directivity
Theta-component f=900 MHz

Phi-component

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 Tags on medical pill-boxes
For a more realistic scenario, an ensemble of tags
were placed on the lids of a set of pill-boxes

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 Assembly
Tags and reader are positioned some distance apart
and the S-parameters were computed
CST MICROWAVE STUDIO®

Advanced CAD modelling

full parameterization

Transient Analysis
2.2h on 32bit machine, 400MB
Distance = 2000mm
PBA + Subgrid
Optimized runtime

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 S-Parameter
|S| in dB

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 E-Field > e-field (f=900) MHz
Vertical view

Animated top view

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 Simulation of tags and reader
Broadband S-parameters are computed for a modified distance between
Reader and Tag reduced to 250 mm. The reader is fed by an AM-signal, the
deformed signal waveforms at the tag-ports can be observed

Dist = 250mm

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 Simulation of tags and reader

S-Parameters

E-Field (f=900 MHz)

At 923 MHz the reader shows the best match. The HF-Signal for the AM-
Generator is set to this frequency.

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 AM Signal Generator in DesignStudio

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 AM-SignalGenerator + RF-IDs
AM Input-Signal at RFID Reader-Antenna
HF-Signal

AM Input-Signals at RFID Tag 1-4

Port 5
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Ports 1-4
 Generating the DC-Volatge at the tag
Tag-load (chip)

Tag Ports 2-5

Matching network

Reader-Port

tag P1
broadband 0-4 GHz
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 METRO Group & Checkpoint
Logistical Application

Side horizontal illumination Front horizontal illumination

Towards minimum axis of the tag Tags are between the boxes
Tags are between the boxes

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 Label Orientation and Detection
Illumination: Horizontal Front

01

345 2 15

330 30
1,94
315 45

300
1 60

285 75

270 0 90

255 105

240 120

225 135

210 150

195 165

Tag is embedded between the paper stacks

with it‘s axis along the axis of the paper stacks.

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 Label Orientation and Detection
Illumination: Vertical Front

01

345 4 15

330 30

3,24
315 3 45

300
2 60

285
1 75

270 0 90

255 105

240 120

225 135

210 150

195 165

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 Label Orientation and Detection
Illumination: Flat Side
01

345 3 15

2,90
330 30

315 45

2
300 60

1
285 75

270 0 90

255 105

240 120

225 135

210 150

195 165

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 Tag Design
Parameter Studies on Permittivity Variations

Material Eps_r min Eps_r max

Acryl 2,1 4,5
Aluminum Oxide 4,5 26,0
Aramid / Kevlar 1,6 4,0
Dacron / Polyester 2,8 8,1
Duroid / Teflon 2,0 6,2
Glass, soda lime 3,6 8,5
Nylon / Polyamide 2,8 11,0
Paper 2,0 6,0
Plexiglas - Polymethyl Methacrylate 2,8 11,0
Polycarbonate 2,7 3,5
Polyvinyl Chloride - PVC 2,3 12
Porcelain 4,4 11,0
Rubber 2,0 18,0
Water / distilled 77 87
Wood 1,2 8,5

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 Permittivity Variation
Current at port in A

permittivity variation: 2..6

frequency shift: 200 MHz

Frequency / MHz

Tag on a cardboard, DIN A4 with 4mm thickness.

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 Material Parameters and
Volume
Simulated Scenario

label is on the middle of a dieletric volume of 1000 cm^3 / 1 liter.

Permittivity ranges from 2 – 6 ( typical paper ) in three steps.
1) The volume is a cubus of : 100 x 100 x 100 mm.
2) The volume is a card board: 500 x 500 x 4 mm
3) The volume is a bar : 330 x 60 x 50 mm

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 Frequency shift for Cubus
Current at port in A 100 x 100 x 100 mm

Frequency / MHz

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 Frequency shift for a bar
330 x 60 x 50 mm
Current at port in A

Frequency / MHz

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 Frequency shift for a card board
500 x 500 x 4 mm
Current at port in A

Frequency / MHz

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 Summary

• CST RFID is a general concept using different technical principals

• complete technology approach offers best solution for each case

– CST MWS Frequency Domain / CST EMS for inductive type
– CST MWS Transient for microwave type

• Coupling between CST DS and CST MWS allows easy combination of

circuit and 3D EM analysis, e.g. for
– Tag matching networks
– Reader circuits (using the new Transient solver in CST DS)

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