RFID chips, the most important part of RFID tags, play a crucial role. RFID chip usually has a built-in antenna and an integrated circuit IC. Antennas can send and receive radio waves, while IC is responsible for modulating and demodulating radio signals, as well as processing and storing data.

According to the working frequency, RFID chips can be divided into low-frequency (LF), high-frequency (HF), ultra-high-frequency (UHF) and microwave, etc. They work on different principles: LF and HF RFID chips use Electromagnetic Coupling Principle, while UHF and microwave adopt Electromagnetic Emission Principle.

At present, the frequencies widely used in the world are distributed in four wavebands: low frequency (125 kHz), high frequency (13.56MHz), ultra-high frequency (860MHz~960MFz) and microwave (2.45GHz). Each frequency has its characteristics and caters to different applications, so it is necessary to choose the appropriate frequency to use it correctly.

Low Frequency RFID Chips (LF RFID Chips)

The working frequency range of LF RFID chips is 30kHz~300kHz. Typical operating frequencies are 125 kHz and 132KHz. Low-frequency tags are generally passive tags that obtain energy from the radiation near the field of the reader coupling coil by inductive coupling. When transmitting data between the low-frequency chip and the reader, the low-frequency chip should be located in the near-field area radiated by the reader antenna. The reading distance is generally less than 1 meter.

Features

• Working Frequency: 30kHz~300kHz, Typical Working Frequency: 125 kHz～134.2 kHz
• Protocol: ISO7814, ISO7815 (generally 3-10cm in distance), remote chip can achieve 1.5 meters.
• Except for metal material, LF RFID Chips are able to pass through objects of any material without reducing its reading distance.
• Compared with other frequency chips, LF RFID chips have a low data rate and can only read one at a time.
• The system construction cost is relatively low, the label cost is high.
• Although the magnetic field area of this frequency decreases rapidly, it can produce a relatively uniform read-write area.
• RFID chips come in different packages. Good packaging is too expensive, but has a life of more than 10 years.

Applications

• Animal husbandry management system
• Car anti-theft and keyless door opening system
• Marathon running system
• Access control and security management system
• Hotel door lock system
• Automatic car park charging and vehicle management system
• Automatic refueling system

Commonly Used Chip

High-Frequency RFID Chips (HF RFID Chips)

The working frequency range of HF RFID chips is 30kHz~300kHz. Typical operating frequencies are 13.56MHz. Like LF RFID chips, HF RFID chips are also generally passive and feature no need batteries, and the reading distance less than 100mm.

The card reader at this frequency no longer needs to be wound by coil, and the antenna can be made by etching and printing. The card reader generally works utilizing load modulation.

In other words, the voltage on the reader antenna is changed by turning on and off the load resistance on the card reader, and the amplitude modulation of the antenna voltage is realized by the long-distance card reader. If people turn on and off the load voltage through data control, then the data can be transferred from the card reader to the reader.

Features

• Working Frequency: 3MHz~30MHz, Typical Working Frequency: 13.56MHz
• Protocol: ISO14443A/ ISO 14443B, ISO15693/ISO18000-3M (general distance is 1-10cm), ISO15693 chip can reach about 1 meter.
• Except for metal material, LF RFID Chips are able to pass through objects of any material without reducing its reading distance.
• Larger chip capacity selection, higher chip safety performance.
• HF RFID chips feature anti-collision and can read multiple electronic tags at the same time.
• System setup cost and label cost are moderate.
• Although the magnetic field area of this frequency decreases rapidly, it can produce a relatively uniform read-write area.
• The data transmission rate is faster than the low frequency, and the price is not very expensive.

Applications

• Books and archives management system.
• Management of gas cylinders.
• Clothing production line and logistics system management.
• Three-meter pre-charging system.
• Management of hotel door lock.
• Large-scale conference personnel passage system.
• Logistics and supply chain management solutions.
• Pharmaceutical logistics and supply chain management.
• Management of intelligent shelves
• Public transport, parking management;
• Security traceability;
• Ticket management, one – card management

Commonly Used Chip

1\ ISO14443A – NXP CHIPS MIFARE SERIES

2\ ISO14443A – NXP CHIPS NTAG SERIES

3\ ISO14443A TYPE 4 OTHER CHIPS

4\ ISO14443B CHIPS

5\ ISO15693 – NXP CHIPS

6\ ISO15693 – TI CHIPS

7\ ISO15693 – ST CHIPS

8\ ISO15693 – OTHER CHIPS

Ultrahigh Frequency RFID Chips (UHF RFID Chips)

The typical operating frequencies of the UHF RFID chip is 860MHz~960MHz. The ultra-high frequency system transmits energy through the electric field, and the energy of the electric field does not drop very fast, but the reading area is not well defined. The reading distance is relatively long, and the passive distance can reach about 10m.

Features

• In this frequency, the global definition is not quite the same: Europe and parts of Asia are 868MHz, North America is between 902 and 928MHz, and Japan is between 950MHz and 956. 
• The reading distance is generally more than 100mm, and the typical reading distance is 4m to 6m, with a maximum of more than 10m.
• At present, the power output of this frequency is uniformly defined (4W in the United States and 500mW in Europe). European restrictions may rise to 2W EIRP.
• The radio waves in the ultra-high frequency cannot pass through many materials, especially suspended particles such as water, metal, dust, and fog.
• The antennas of RFID UHF tags are generally long strips. The antenna is designed with linear polarity and circular polarization to meet the needs of different applications.
• UHF RFID chips have a good reading distance, but they are difficult to define the reading area.
• It has a high data transmission rate and can read a large number of electronic tags in a very short time.

Applications

• Logistics and supply chain management
• Automatic management of production line
• Management of air parcels
• Container management
• Railway parcel management
• Logistics management system
• Automatic identification of railway vehicles
• Container identification
• Highway vehicle Identification and automatic toll system

Commonly Used Chip

In addition to the common chips mentioned above, there are dual-band chips, such as EM4423 chip and Qstar-6S chip, which can complete NFC / EPC production in one step, realize dual-interface memory access, high-frequency and ultra-high frequency memory sharing (NFC or EPC interface), and long-distance EPC data acquisition, etc.

If you have any questions about RFID chips, feel free to contact us. Xinyetong is a professional RFID manufacturer and supplier. We are capable of answering any relevant questions for you.

Relevant articles

• What is RFID tag? Learn about common RFID applications
• In-depth Analysis：Components of An RFID Tag
• NFC vs. RFID: What’s the Difference Between Them?
• NFC Beginner’s Guide: All You Need to Know About NFC
• How to protect our RFID card? (Complete Guide)
• RFID Animal Tracking and Identification
• ISO/IEC 15693 protocol radio frequency identification standard