Abstract
This is the third article in our continuing series of general interest tutorial papers on the applications of microwaves in areas of science and technology that might not be appreciated by every engineer. The tagging of people, animals, and all manner of things for individual identification purposes has been an obsession of humanity since the earliest days of community existence and personal property. Doing so permanently, discretely, and without the possibility of removal or alteration was the realm of science fiction and spy novels until very recently. In this article we examine, from a microwave perspective, the techniques, devices, development and basic operation of the now ubiquitous RFID industry which, in my humble opinion, and like so many technological and science innovations, takes on the mantra of the Roman deity, Janus: transitioning from a past seeking change for the better, to a future which promises both benefits and dangers in the embrace of new technology. The author hopes you will enjoy this month's “Microwaves are Everywhere.”
Highlights
The concept of using radio frequency energy to autonomously interrogate and confirm the identity of an object has its roots both in the development of radar and less widely known, in the history of power beaming and listening devices
The supporting results of a comprehensive and very recent (2020) National Academies report [2], page 2 wherein, “The committee found the unusual presentation of acute, directional or location-specific early phase signs, symptoms and observations reported by DOS (Department of State) employees to be consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy” invokes the notable story of Leon Theremin’s “Great Seal bug” well described in [3]–[4], and is an appropriate lead-in to the vast field of radio frequency identification (RFID)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Theremin’s (Lev Termen1) ingenious – and completely passive listening device was secretly installed inside a wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States, which after being presented to the US Embassy in Moscow in 1945, was hung on a wall and remotely activated by a strong CW microwave beam broadcast from an outside van or nearby building
Summary
The concept of using radio frequency energy to autonomously interrogate and confirm the identity of an object has its roots both in the development of radar and less widely known, in the history of power beaming and listening devices. A short, but very influential PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE letter in 1973, by Alfred Koelle et al [24], at Los Alamos Science Labs, New Mexico, outlined one of the first uses of an RF homodyne radar system to remotely power an oscillator and code generator (12 bit) and process backscatter signals from a transponder antenna operating in the 915 MHz ISM band (see footnotes 7 and 8 in [25]) with a 20 kHz load modulation.
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