RFID Cards
RFID, or Radio-Frequency Identification, is a technology that uses radio waves to communicate between a reader and a passive RFID tag or card. The RFID card, also known as a transponder, contains a microchip that stores and processes information, as well as an antenna that transmits and receives the radio signals. There are several types of RFID chips available, each with different capabilities and characteristics.
Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) RFID chips, which operate at frequencies between 300 MHz and 3 GHz. They have a read range of up to 10 meters and are often used for inventory tracking and supply chain management. -Active RFID tags have own power source and can have much larger range and transmit much more data.
Popular brands of RFID chips include NXP, Alien Technology, Impinj, and Avery Dennison. Frequency used in RFID technology can vary by the application and region, for example in US 915 MHz is most commonly used frequency but in Europe 868 MHz is most commonly used.
RFID technology is used in a wide variety of applications, such as: Access control: RFID cards are commonly used to grant access to buildings, parking lots, and other secure areas.
- RFID cards are used to grant access to buildings, parking lots, and other secure areas
- The cards contain a unique RFID chip that is read by an RFID reader when the card is presented
- The chip can be programmed with information such as the cardholder’s name, permissions, and other relevant data
- The RFID reader uses this information to grant or deny access to the secure area
- RFID tags can be attached to products to track their movement through a supply chain
- These tags contain a unique RFID chip that can be read by RFID readers at different points in the supply chain
- This information can be used to track the location of products and ensure they are not lost or stolen during transit
- RFID tags can be attached to equipment and other assets to track their location and usage
- This information can be used to schedule maintenance, track usage over time, and identify assets that are not being used
- RFID cards and smartphones can be used to make payments at retailers without the need for physical contact
- This is done by integrating a RFID chip on the device, then it can be used to complete a transaction by placing the device in proximity of an RFID reader.
- RFID cards are used to pay for fares on buses and trains
- This eliminates the need for cash or paper tickets and allows passengers to simply tap their RFID card on a reader to pay for their fare
- RFID chips are embedded in these documents to securely store personal data, such as the holder’s name, photograph, and biometric information
- This technology ensures that the data is protected from tampering or unauthorized access, making it more secure than traditional paper-based documents.
Low Frequency RFID Cards
Low-Frequency (LF) RFID chips, which operate at frequencies between 30 kHz and 300 kHz. They have a short read range of a few centimeters and are typically used for applications such as access control and animal identification.Low frequency RFID Cards mostly called “Proximity Cards” are usually used in identification and access control applications. LF cards have lower read range and communication speeds than other RFID Card types and the most common chips offer low-cost and low-security solutions where a simple UID or identification key is required.
EM4100 / EM4200: Simple read-only chip with 128 bit factory programmed UID used in access control, anti-counterfeiting and logistics.
EM4450 / EM4550: Read/Write chip with 1Kbit EEPROM and password protection used in ticketing, access control and prepayment devices.
ATA5577 / T5577: Read/write chip with 363bit EEPROM and write protection, used in access control, hotel keycards, logistics and gaming.
Hitag 1: Read/Write chip with 2Kbit EEPROM used in logistics, asset tracking, industrial ID and automation.
Hitag 2: Read/Write chip with protected 256bit EEPROM and multi-tag operability used in logistics, asset tracking, casino gaming and industrial automation.
High Frequency RFID Cards (HF)
High frequency is the most diverse category of contactless and RFID smart card and is used as ID cards, access control, payments and loyalty cards, transport and ticketing. 13.56Mhz HF cards are complied by ISO/IEC 14443A/B or ISO/IEC 15693 standards and range from simple fixed memory to high security Java and PKI processor cards.
*Please call us or send e-mail if your project requires custom contactless chip / encoding not available on the list.
*MIFARE and MIFARE Classic are trademarks of NXP B.V.
NXP MIFARE Ultralight EV1: MIFARE chip with 64byte EEPROM, 32bit user definable OTP area and 7-byte UID.
NXP MIFARE Classic EV1 1k: Original MIFARE chip with 1024byte EEPROM and 4-byte / 7-byte UID.
NXP MIFARE Classic 4k: Original MIFARE chip with 4096byte EEPROM and 4-byte / 7-byte UID.
MIFARE Plus: Based on the same file structure as MIFARE Classic 1k and 4k but Plus gives users the option to use much more secure AES-128 authentication.
MIFARE DESFire: DESFire provides a highly secure microcontroller-based IC that comes preloaded with NXP’s proprietary DESFire operating system, allowing users to take advantage of an on-chip directory structure that can hold up to 28 different applications and 32 files per application.
Icode SLI: ISO 15693 chip with 1024bit EEPROM and password protected read/write.
NTAG213 / 215 / 216: NFC Forum Type 2 tag with 180byte / 540byte / 924byte memory. Widely known as NFC Cards.
Ultra High Frequency RFID Cards (UHF)
UHF follows the EPCglobal Gen2 standard and uses the 850—960Mhz frequency band to provide long-range data transfer (up to 10m) compared to LF or HF cards. UHF labels and tags are used extensively in warehousing and product tracking while UHF cards are popular choice for location and attendance tracking applications.
Alien Higgs 3: EPC Class1 Gen2 chip with 96—480bit EPC memory, 512bit user memory and 64bit UTID with memory read protection.
Alien Higgs 4: EPC Class1 Gen2 chip with 128bit EPC memory, 128bit user memory and 64bit UTID with memory read protection and pre-encoded with unalterable enterprise-wide serialization scheme.
Impinj Monza R6: EPC Class1 Gen2 chip with 96bit EPC memory and 48bit serialized TID.