Measurements of Dark Area in Sensing RFID Transponders

Abstract

Radiofrequency(RF) signal is a key medium to the most of the present wireless communication devices including RF identification devices(RFID) and smart sensors. However, the most critical barrier to overcome in RFID application is in the failure rate in detection. The most notable improvement in the detection was from the introduction of EPC Class1 Gen2 protocol, but the fundamental problems in the physical properties of the RF signal drew less attention. In this work, we focused on the physical properties of the RF signal in order to understand the failure rate by noting the existence of the ground planes and noise sources in the real environment. By using the mathematical computation software, Maple, we simulated the distribution of the electromagnetic field from a dipole antenna when ground planes exist. Calculations showed that the dark area can be formed by interference. We also constructed a test system to measure the failure rate in the detection of a RFID transponder. The test system was composed of a fixed RFID reader and an EPC Class1 Gen2 transponder which was attached to a scanner to sweep in the x-y plane. Labview software was used to control the x-y scanner and to acquire data. Tests in the laboratory environment showed that the dark area can be as much as 43 %. One who wants to use RFID and smart sensors should carefully consider the extent of the dark area.