Battery-assisted passive RFID chip

Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT

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30 May 2012 Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT

EM Microelectronic, the semiconductor company of the Swatch Group, announced the EM4325, a versatile and multipurpose, battery-assisted passive (BAP) RFID chip with integrated temperature sensor. This facilitates the expansion of established UHF RFID applications by offering longer read range, increased communication robustness and more configuration options and interface capabilities for auxiliary functions.

Operating in the UHF frequency range, the Gen2 chip operates in both BAP and purely passive modes. It integrates smart power management for longer battery life when used in BAP applications. The EM4325 also allows programmable duty cycle and automatic switching between battery-powered and field-powered operation when the tag is too far away from the reader. A unique ultra-low power (ULP) mode can be activated or disabled via a simple reader command. This ULP mode extends tag battery life when the tags are stored for long periods.

The EM4325 further contains 4 Kbits of high-speed, non-volatile EEPROM memory. It supports either ISO or EPC data structures compliant with EPCglobal’s Tag Data Standard, Version 1.6. To ensure full traceability, the chip is delivered with a factory programmed and serialised Unique Identifier (UID).

An integrated temperature sensor monitors temperature from -40°C to +64°C. In pure passive mode, the temperature sensor can be used for field-powered snapshot readings. But the chip can also be programmed to perform self-monitoring with user-programmable alarm conditions (upper and lower temperature thresholds). The sensor may also be configured to provide Simple Sensor Data reporting according to the data formats defined in ISO/IEC 18000-6 and ISO/IEC 24753.

The most unique feature of the EM4325 may be the inclusion of a programmable external interface for auxiliary functions and a 4 bit I/O port. These interfaces open the door to advanced applications where the device can be operated either as an RFID tag or as an RFID interface or modem for embedded applications. The auxiliary function may be configured as input for tamper detection or as an output to notify external devices of RF events. The 4-bit I/O port can be programmed to support four discrete signals or as a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) configurable as an SPI master or slave device.

Its rich feature set makes the EM4325 suitable for applications in supply chain management, supply chain temperature monitoring, electronic vehicle identification, asset configuration and control, tamper detection and RFID for challenging RF environments.

For more information visit www.emmicroelectronic.com

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Battery-assisted passive RFID chip

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