Effect of RFID Operating

Frequency

What are RFID Operating Frequency?

RFID is most often used in one of these four

frequency bands...

Low Frequency (LF) 125 to 134 KHz band

High Frequency (HF) 13.56 MHz
Ultra High Frequency (UHF) 433 MHZ and 860 to 956 MHz
band
Microwave Frequency 2.45 to 5.8 GHz band

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

What RFID Frequency can affect?

RFID frequencies affect...

Which countries you can operate in (legal restrictions)

The distance over which you can read RFID tags
How fast you can read RFID tags
Tag size (may limit the size of the object you can tag)
What surroundings you can and shouldnt operate in
Buy price

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

Which Country?

Each country has its own radio regulations. These

help minimize radio chaos imagine if there were no
controls and anyone could use any frequency for
anything. The interference would make any radio
system unusable.
It would be great if the regulations were the same in
every country but theyre not. Unfortunately radio
regulations dont extend seamlessly between countries.
Not yet anyway. And though this situation is improving,
it can have an affect on what type of RFID system you
are allowed to use.
Globally, RFID devices operate in the ISM bands
(Industrial, Scientific and Medical).
12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

Distance?

RFID frequencies affect the maximum distance over

which you can read a tag,
It affects the amount of power that can be transferred
from the reader. This is important if the tag doesnt
have a battery and is relying on radiated energy from
the reader to power its microchip.
Applications where tag and reader can naturally, or be
arranged to come into close contact, usually use LF
RFID frequencies
In general, the higher the frequency, the greater is the
range. This is because RF radiation has more energy at
the higher frequencies. However the higher frequencies
can bring their own complications.

At higher frequencies the RF can be more easily obstructed or

absorbed by objects in and around the line of sight between the
reader and the tags.

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

How fast can you read RFID tags?

When you read an RFID tag, data is transferred

between tag and reader. RFID frequencies affect the
maximum transfer speed.
Higher frequency means you can read more tags faster.
If you have only one tag to read then this isnt
important. But if you have hundreds to read at the
same time and if the tags are moving, this can be very
important.
You dont really read them at the same time. Theyre
actually read one at a time, but the time it takes to read
an RFID tag is so short that it appears to be
simultaneous.
12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

tag size?

An RFID has a chip (to process the tags activities) and

an antenna.
The size of the tag mostly depends on the size of the
antenna.
The tag has to be at least as large as its antenna. The
lower the frequency, the larger the antenna has to be.
So LF tags tend to be larger than those that operate at
the higher RFID frequencies.
Sometimes tag size doesnt matter. If the object to
which you want to attach the tag is large enough to
take a larger tag, then you can capitalize on any
advantages that LF has to offer for your application.
12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

what surroundings you can and shouldnt

operate in?

RF energy at the higher RFID frequencies tends to be

absorbed more by water than energy at the lower
frequencies.
So if you want to identify food products, containing water,
moving along a conveyor, youll get better results if you use
equipment that uses the lower RFID frequencies, while
considering the LFs limitations of short range and slow
speed.
The higher RFID frequencies are affected more by
conducting materials (especially metal objects) that are
nearby. These can reflect, reduce or totally block the RF
signal.
LF RFID frequencies are far less susceptible to nearby
conducting materials as the signals can often go around
them.
12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

buy price?

Because there are usually many more RFID tags than

readers, theres a significant advantage in making the tags as
inexpensive as possible. So designers and manufacturers will try to
minimize functionality/costs on the tag and transfer these to the
reader wherever possible.
Therefore it makes good economic sense to use the relatively
cheap passive tags whenever you can, and let the reader transmit
the tag power wirelessly to them, rather than putting a microchip
and battery on each of thousands of tags, and escalating the cost.
However, when you need to add a few tags to track only a few
valuable items, a higher tag price is not of so much significance.

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

Theres a trade-off.

If you need the extra range and want to reprogram the

tags, then despite the extra cost (a few dollars each)
using active long range rfid tags may be the best
solution.
However, if you want to track many low value items
through a point of sale, then passive RFID tags, costing
a few cents each, is the better choice.

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

10

Low RFID frequencies

In general their advantages are:

Their disadvantages are:

Least affected by their surroundings

Least affected by the presence of water
Cant read tags over distances of more than about half a meter.
Cant read lots of tags at the same time (lower read speeds)
Larger tags (may not fit on small objects)

Typical applications:

RFID access control systems

point-of-sale checkouts
identifying animals
monitoring manufacturing processes, especially wet ones

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

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High RFID frequencies

In general their advantages are:

Their disadvantages are:

Cost less than most LF

Can read tags over a larger distance than LF
Shorter tag read range (up to 2m) than UHF and Microwave
Not best for reading many tags at the same time, but better
than LF

Typical applications:

RFID library system

identification of bags at transport gateways
smart cards

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Dr. Mohamed Zayed

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Ultra high RFID frequencies

In general their advantages are:

Their disadvantages are:

Generally cost less than LF or HF

Identify objects fast because of fast read speed
Good range (maybe up to ten meters in the 860 to 956 MHz
band, and tens of meters at 433 MHz)

There can be more RF transmission complications

Typical applications:

Logistics - big operators such as Wallmart

Making toll payments without stopping
Accessing car parks

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

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Microwave RFID frequencies

In general their advantages are:

Their disadvantages are:

Identify objects fastest because of fastest read speed

Excellent for reading many tags at the same time because of fastest
read speeds possible
Microwaves penetrate many non-conducting objects well and tags can
be buried
Cost more than LF
Doesnt work well through water or objects with water in them (the
energy at microwave frequencies is absorbed by water. This is what
happens in your microwave oven)
Dont work well with conducting materials such as metals between tag
and reader (some RFID devices can be mounted on metal objects
where they have been designed for this)

Typical applications:

Identifying baggage
Making toll payments without stopping

12/10/2014

Dr. Mohamed Zayed

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