RFID

What are RFID tags and smart labels?

RFID tags are made up of an integrated circuit (IC), an antenna and a substrate. The part of an RFID tag that encodes identifying information is called the RFID inlay.

There are two main types of RFID tags:

Active RFID. An active RFID tag has its own power source, often a battery.

Passive RFID. A passive RFID tag receives its power from the reading antenna, whose electromagnetic wave induces a current in the RFID tag’s antenna.

There are also semi-passive RFID tags, meaning a battery runs the circuitry while communication is powered by the RFID reader.

Low-power, embedded non-volatile memory plays an important role in every RFID system. RFID tags typically hold less than 2,000 KB of data, including a unique identifier/serial number. Tags can be read-only or read-write, where data can be added by the reader or existing data overwritten.

The read range for RFID tags varies based on factors including type of tag, type of reader, RFID frequency, and interference in the surrounding environment or from other RFID tags and readers. Active RFID tags have a longer read range than passive RFID tags due to the stronger power source.

smart labels are simple RFID tags. These labels have an RFID tag embedded into an adhesive label and feature a barcode. They can also be used by both RFID and barcode readers.