How do RFID Systems Work

An RFID system consists of two major components--the reader and the card/tag. They work together to provide the end user with a non-contact solution to uniquely identify people, animals or objects.

The reader performs several functions, one of which is to produce a low-level radio frequency magnetic field. The RF magnetic field emanates from the reader by means of a transmitting antenna, typically in the form of a coil. The magnetic field serves as a "carrier" of power from the reader to the RFID card or tag.

The RFID card or tag contains an antenna, also in the form of a coil and an integrated circuit (IC). The IC requires a small amount of electrical power in order to function. The antenna in the tag provides a means for gathering the energy present in the magnetic field produced by the reader and converts it to an electrical form of energy for use by the IC.

When a card or tag is brought into the magnetic field produced by the reader, the converted energy powers the IC. This enables the transmission of the IC's memory contents in the form of an electromagnetic signal to the reader via the tag's antenna.

The tag information is received by an antenna within the reader and converted back into an electrical form. The reader contains a sensitive receiving system that is designed to detect and process the tag signal. Once the tag data has been processed, a microcomputer within the reader checks to verify that the signal received is valid. Once the reader has checked and validated the received data, the data is then decoded and restructured for transmission to the end-user's host computer. This restructuring provides the data in both an electrical form and a protocol (or format) that is required by the host computer system. Once the restructuring process is complete, the data is transmitted to the host system.

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