Design and Optimization of Passive UHF RFID Systems

Design and Optimization of 1 Introduction to RFID Passive UHF RFID Systems
2 3
Wireless Power Transmission
Prof. Michel Declercq Communication Issue
Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Design Lausanne (EPFL) 4 Tag & Reader Switzerland 5 Conclusion & Outlook
michel.declercq@epfl.ch
Design and Optimization of Passive UHF RFID Systems
Outline
Introduction Wireless Power Transmission Communication Issues Transponder (tag) and Reader Design Conclusion
OUTLINE Introduction Wireless Power Transmission Communication Issues Transponder (tag) and Reader Design Conclusion
Introduction to RFID & Main issues
An exploding market Principle Near & Far-field Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Issues
1. INTRODUCTION
Brief history Principle Near & Far-field Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Issues
Principle
Tag 1 Tag 2
data & power AC to DC converter Data management & modulation
DB
Reader
data
Tag N
michel.declercq@epfl.ch Design and Optimization of Passive UHF RFID Systems
Near-field (low frequency applications, up to 100 MHz)

Starts in the direct neighborhood of any antenna up to d = Usually inductive coupling (magnetic field) But can be capacitive coupling (electric field) Antennas have to be either coils for inductive coupling, or metallic surfaces for capacitive coupling Power decay in both cases is prop. to d6
B
E
Far-field (high frequency applications, from 100 MHz)

Far-field occurs at a distance of about from the antenna 2
Electromagnetic coupling Antennas are typically of N-poles types (monopole, dipoles, etc.) Available Power varies with d-2 and 2.
Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) in UHF passive systems

Some challenges: Power decay in the far-field is proportionnal to d2 Link budget is a function of d-4 RF to DC power conversion Efficiency, Start-up voltage Tag and reader antenna design Type of Modulation for the backscattered signal Power management of tag circuits and signal encoding Reader design and sensitivity

A first estimation of power levels at tag (1/2):
Typical WPT system
GPA Gt PEIRP S vin fRF, PRF transmitter Rectifier RS, Gr, Ae
Ri Battery-less device
1 Power density at tag antenna: S = PEIRP . 4 d 2

Power collected by tag antenna and available to the load: With Antenna Aperture
PAV = AE .S
2 AE = .GR 4

A first estimation of power levels at tag (2/2):
2 2 PAV = S. .GR = PEIRP .GR . 4 (4 d )2

d(m)
1m 5m 10 m 12 m
FRiiS Relation
= 0,1224 m (2,45 Ghz) For PEIRP = 4 W GR = 1 (0 dB): Antenna gain
PAV(W)
379 W 15.17 W 3.79 W 2.6 W
Issue Model Results Impacts on RFID Systems
2. Wireless Power Transmission
From low-voltage AC to high-voltage DC supply Rectifier building blocks (1/2)

DC restorer
v vC vin D vout v vout vin D vC vr t vin vC t vin D is conducting vout vC = vout
Peak detector
From low-voltage AC to high-voltage DC supply Rectifier building blocks (2/2)

Voltage doubler
vC vin D vint D vout Full wave rectifier doubler v vout vC vin vint t
v vin
+ vint
+ vout + vint
t vin
+ vout
Full wave rectifier
vint
vout
vint vout
Rectifier Circuit (2 stage Greinacher)
in v
Vout
in Vout = 4 Nv
Where N is the number of stages
There is a need for a model taking into account

The AC source vin (antenna) The current delivered to the load Diodes non-idealities
Antenna Model
PAV
Antenna with radiation resistance RANT at tuning freqency Input resistance of the load
PAV RANT
Rin= RANT
S v
vin
Rin = RANT
2 in v PAV = 2 Rin
At load matching conditions (RANT = RIN)
in = 2 2.PAV .RANT S = 2 v v
Rectifier input voltage: influence of Rin

in at The voltage amplitude v the rectifier input is given by:
in = 2 2 PAV Rant v
To maximize
RANT
S v
in v
Rin
Rin Rin + Rant

in v
Rin Vout
in and Power: v
Maximize Rant Keep Rin equal to Rant
Rectifier input voltage for RANT = Rin

in v
250 [mV]
600
200
150
300
100
50
50
0
10 20 30 40 50 0
PAV
[W]
Rectifier Equivalent Circuit Model
in v
Rout Rin Cin v0 vout
AC
DC
Assumptions
The rectifier operates in steady-state mode; The ouptut current is constant; All diodes are identical; The coupling capacitors are considered as short-circuits at the RF frequency The rectifier input current is transformed into an equivalent sinusodal current
Model Derivation (steady state conditions)

1. Ideal diodes
iin iC1 v2 i1 v1 iC2 i3 v3
2 in
i2 iout
0 T
iC (t )dt = 0
For all capacitors For all diodes
vin
iD (t )dt = I out .T
vout = in 4 N .v
1 T v Pin = . vin (t ).iin (t )dt = 2.Rin T 0

also
iC1 v4
in .iout Pin = Pout , DC = Vout .iout = 4 N .v

in v Rin = 8 NI out
Model Derivation (steady state conditions)

2. Real diodes
iin iC1 v2 i1 v1 iC2 i3 v3 iC1 v4 i2 iout
and
0
T
iC (t )dt = 0
For all capacitors (1) For all diodes (2)
vin
iD (t )dt = I out .T
vout = 4 N .VD with in VD < v
with iD(t) = F[vD(t)]
Real diode characteristic (3) (4)
in .sin t vD (t ) = VD v

VD is obtained by solving (1), (2), (3) It can be shown that
vout = 4 N .VD
Model Derivation (detail)

Ideal Diodes vs. Real Diodes
iD iD
With real diodes, VD must be lower than ^ vin to get a positive balance of the current over one cycle
^ vin
vD
VD
vD
^ vin . sint
^ vin . sint
Current/Voltage characteristics of MOS diodes

Current-voltage characteristics of typical measured device
iD
Diode current iD A Diode mounted transistor
vD
Diode voltage drive vD V
Determination of Rin (Real diodes)

Rin models the power that enters the circuit:
1 Pin = T
2 in
4N vin iin (t )dt = T
viniD (t )dt
The mean power can also be calculated using the usual relation:
v Pin = 2 Ri n
Rin =
2 in v
8N T
viniD (t )dt
Based on the I/V characteristic of a single diode, we can compute the power-equivalent input resistance Rin
Determination of Cin
Our approach to calculate Cin is to compute the mean capacitance over one period of time:
4N Cin = T
in sin t CD VD + v dt
where VD is the constant voltage that appears on each diode during steady-state Based on the C/V characteristic of a single diode, we can compute the equivalent input capacitance Cin
Measurements & Comparisons

Output voltage vs Input Power (50, 900 MHz), 0.5m SOS Techno
Vout V
Power available from the generator in dBm michel.declercq@epfl.ch Design and Optimization of Passive UHF RFID Systems
Model possibilities
The model allows a reasonably accurate prediction of:
The output voltage (V0) The input impedance (Rin, Cin) The output resistance The conversion efficiency The DC output Power / Current The antenna radiation resistance (Rant) The available power PAV at the antenna The characteristics of the MOS diodes
as a function of:
Communication Issue
Analysis Pseudo-PSK (pPSK) Impacts on RFID Systems
3. COMMUNICATION ISSUES
Communication Issue
a b
Communication Analysis Backscattering Analysis
Modulation Types
The reflection coefficient at the tag-antenna interface can be varied in: Amplitude Phase Two basic binary modulation types are possible: ASK & PSK They must be compared in terms of Power available for both tag supply & for communication Communication quality (Bit Error Rate BER)
Communication Issue
a b
ASK modulation
RANT L Reflected ASK modulated signal
Duty-cycle ASK standard ASK bit stream
Ci
Ri
Ant.
matching I
tag
DC
Reflected power due To mismatch at the tag
Tag input impedance
(switch closed)
Ri (switch open)
Time
Communication Issue
a b
PSK modulation
RANT
Ci
In B: Absorbed power And reflected power are constant

Ri
C0 Ant. React. tag
In A: Voltage at tag input is however not constant
Z1
L XL 1 1 0 State 1
1 0 1 0
XC + XC' State 0
Z0
michel.declercq@epfl.ch Tag input impedance at B
Communication Issue
a b

Eb = Average Energy per bit N0 = Noise level at receiver input = Ri /RANT Q = tag input series Quality factor 1/.Ri.Ci DC = Modulation Duty Cycle
ASK / PSK Comparison

ASK
E b BER = Q .DC . 1 + N0
Q + 1 .( 1) 2 2 2 ( + 1) + Qin ( 1)
2 in 2
PSK
2 2 Eb 4 + 8 + 4 + Qin 4Qin BER = Q 2 . .sin 2 arctan 2 2 2 N 4 + 4 + Q 4 + 8 + 4 + Q 0 in in
( (
( (
)) ))
Communication Issue
a b
ASK / PSK Comparison

BER for ASK and PSK in similar conditions
BER
Eb /N0
Optimal ASK and PSK BER comparison (ASK: DC = 100%, = 1 and PSK: = 1, Qin = 5.6)
Communication Issue
a b
Tag input impedance for long-distance RFID

Reflection coefficient amplitude Priority is given to communication distance vs. data rate The real part of Rin is very high (1k) and much higher than Rant Reflection coefficient is close to 1 The input capacitance is equal to a few hundreds fF
Normalized resistance = Rin / Rant
Matching conditions = 0 and = 1
Reflection coefficient
Communication Issue
a b
Pseudo - PSK
RANT
Zin
In practice Ri > RANT (~1 order of magnitude) Absorbed power is lower than ideal Voltage available at rectifier input is higher Modulation is very efficient with a 180 phase shift
1 (switch open)
Ri
0 (switch closed)
Zin = Ri >> RANT
Zin = 0
Reflected signal
Communication Issue
a b
Power waves
Power waves for both modulation states
Normalized power wave amplitude %
Time
Communication Issue
a b
Modulation Type Comparison
ASK, PSK & pPSK comparison
Pseudo-PSK is an excellent trade-off considering the high impedance level of the tag RF front-end in this application
BER
Eb/N0
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Specifications Technology Architecture Results and Comparison
Tag Integrated Circuit Design Reader Design
4. TAG AND READER DESIGN
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Initial Specifications for the tag IC

Parameter Frequency range Reader Tag power Operating distance Reader to tag Tag to reader Data rate
Value 2.40 2.48 Ghz 4W
PEIRP
1 W
>5m AM (OOK) modulation p-PSK modulation 10 kbps
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Technological Issues
Desired features Low-VT rectifying devices start-up voltage Steep subthreshold slope efficiency Overall excellent RF behaviour wave operation PEREGRINE 0.5m FD SOS Technology Gate oxide thickness : 10 nm Silicon layer thickness : 100 nm 3 VTs available for both N-channel & P-channel transistors FT,typ = 14 Ghz, FMAX,typ = 55 Ghz @ VDS=1.5V & ID=5mA (n-chan.)
Selected technology
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Building Blocks
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Rectifier And Voltage regulation
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Detector + signal conditioning
Tag & Reader Design

a b
IF Oscillator
Modulator
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Tag Die
Complete Tag with antenna
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Reading Range
Frequency MHz 2450 2450 2450 2450 Antenna Range m 6 /2-dipole /2-dipole with 9 inductive matching 7 folded dipole folded dipole with 12 inductive matching
At 12 m, the available power at the tag input is about 4.2 W for a folded dipole (2dB gain)
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Power distribution between tag components

Modulator Decoder
Power management is the key issue !

Oscillator
Logic
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Tag consumption
Tag & Reader Design

Operational Principle
a b
RF Processing IF Processing
Basic RF Architecture
direct coupling
RF Front-end desensitization can occur due to direct-coupling effect IP3 issue

Tag & Reader Design

a b
Linearity or third order Interception Point IP3

It can be shown that
IIP 3 PI + 4 .8 (dBm)
where : PI is the interferer power and IIP3 the System Input IP3
15 dB Gain
PEIRP = 4 W or 36 dBm
PA
21 dBm -35 dB -14 dBm
LNA
Spec. for overall system IIP3: > -14 dBm + 4.8 dBm = -9.2 dBm
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Advanced Reader architecture with quadrature demodulation

OOK
osc
PA
90 0 LNA LNA
IF
AGC
DATA TX RSSI
C michel.declercq@epfl.ch
DATA RX
Tag & Reader Design

a b
Advanced Reader architecture 2nd IF : Up-conversion with Frequency Sweeping Loop

2nd Mixer 1 Mhz 1st IF (unstabilized)
10.7 Mhz Filter BW=10200 khz
Received Signal Strength Indicator
Conclusions
Conclusions
5. CONCLUSION
Conclusions
Conclusions
Conclusions
Wireless power transmission & rectifier models have been developed for optimizing the power supply available for the tag Different backscattering modulation types were compared and pPSK was identified as an excellent candidate given the naturally high input impedance of the tag; Readers's main issues were studied and optimized to achieve a sensitivity of -105 dBm @ BER = 10-5 & BW = 200 khz Power management of tag circuits and signal encoding has been carefully studied and proved to be a major issue in the overall performance A 2.45 Ghz tag IC connected to a folded dipole antenna and inductively matched led to a measured reading distance of 12 m;
Acknowledgements
The material presented in this workshop on Passive UHF RFID Systems is the result of a team work. Co-authors are gratefully acknowledged: Dr. Jari-Pascal Curty Dr. Catherine Dehollain Dr. Norbert Joehl For a detailed information on this topic, please refer to the book Design and Optimization of Passive UHF RFID Systems by the same authors, published by Springer (Sept. 2006)

Design and Optimization of Passive UHF RFID Systems

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Design and Optimization of 1 Introduction to RFID Passive UHF RFID Systems

Wireless Power Transmission

Prof. Michel Declercq Communication Issue