Ultra-low-power components for an RFID Tag with physical and chemical sensors

Abstract

In this work the development and optimization of the main components for a multisensing flexible Tag with RFID communication capabilities and integrated physical and chemical sensors for logistic datalogging applications will be reported. For this specific scenario, several constraints must be considered: power consumption must be limited for long-term operation, reliable ISO compliant RFID communication must be implemented, and special encapsulation issues must be faced for reliable sensor integration. In this work, the developments on application specific electronic interfaces and on ultralow-power Metal OXdide semiconductor (MOX) gas sensors will be reported. The electronics for sensor control and readout as well as for RFID communication are based on an ultra-low-power MSP430 microcontroller from Texas Instruments together with a custom RFID front-end based on analog circuitry and a CPLD digital device, and are designed to guarantee a passive ISO15693 compliant RFID communication in a range up to 6 cm. A thin film battery for sensor operation is included, thus data acquisition and storage can be accomplished when no reader field is present. This design allows the user to access both the traceability and sensor information even when the on-board battery is exhausted. The physical sensors for light, temperature and humidity are commercially available devices, while for chemical gas sensing innovative MOX sensors are developed, based on ultra-low-power micromachined hotplate arrays specifically designed for flexible Tag integration purposes. A single MOX sensor requires only 8.9 mW for continuous operation, while temperature modulation and discontinuous sensor operation modes are implemented to further reduce the overall power consumption. The development of the custom control and RFID front-end electronics, together with innovative ultralow-power MOX sensor arrays with flexible circuit encapsulation techniques will be described.

Microwave Flash Sintering of Inkjet‐Printed Silver Tracks on Polymer Substrates

“…[1][2][3] The main fields of interest where inkjet printing can be applied include the manufacturing of radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags, [4][5][6] organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), [7][8][9] and electrochromic devices (ECDs), [10,11] and are focused on the future of plastic electronics. [12] In view of these applications on polymer foils, micrometersized conductive features on flexible substrates are essential.…”

Shifting Primes: Extension of Pseudo-Mersenne Primes to Optimize ECC for MSP430-Based Future Internet of Things Devices

“…It is used for 6LoWPAN devices such as the Tmote Sky, for active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) [3], and new hybrid technologies such as DASH7 [4].…”

Flexible tag datalogger for food logistics

“…Concerning the communication capability, a transmission of data based on an infrared communication (as alternative to the RFID technology), was chosen. In fact, the main advantage of RFID is the possibility to operate without battery [3], while the proposed tag is equipped with a battery for supplying the sensors which can also be used to power the IR communication (although some examples of battery operated RFID sensor are presents in literature [4][5][6][7] and semi-passive RFID for temperature measurement are also available on the market [8]). Moreover the IR interface makes possible an easy connection with common commercial devices such as Smartphone or PDA.…”