High efficiency RFID UHF power converter

The paper proposes a high efficiency RFID UHF power converter unit to overcome the low efficiency problem. This power converter is mainly composed of an RF-DC converter and a DC-DC converter. In order to overcome the low efficiency problem in low current consuming condition, a DC-DC converter is added to conventional single RF-DC converter rectifier to increase the rectifying efficiency of the RFDC rectifier. The power converter is implemented in a 0.18 um mixed signal, 1p6m CMOS technology. Simulation shows the power converter has an average improvement of 5% and can achieve efficiency as high as 30% with 900MHz, 16uW RF input power and 1.3 V 3.6uA DC output.

UHF RFID 射频前端及其编解码设计

射频识别（Radio Frequency Identification，RFID）技术，是一种利用射频通信实现的非接触式的数据采集和自动识别技术（以下通称RFID技术）。而超高频射频识别技术（Ultra High Frequency RFID，UHF RFID）具有识别距离远、识别准确率高、识别速度快、抗干扰能力强等特点而成为当前研发的热点。UHF RFID读写器的难点就在于射频前端电路和基带编解码的设计，它们设计的好坏直接决定了读写器的性能好坏。 本文首先通过介绍UHF RFID读写器射频前端设计的基本原理，采用射频通用收发模块进行射频前端设计的方法，给出了以ADF7020收发芯片为核心的UHF RFID读写器的射频前端的整体设计和具体的实现电路，设计了包括射频收发电路、射频前端匹配电路、滤波电路、环行器电路、功率放大电路等。 其次根据EPC Gen-2的协议标准进行了UHF RFID读写器的基带编码解码的仿真设计，然后开发了以FPGA为核心的完整的数字基带硬件电路，实际调试表明整个基带编解码软件在硬件基带PCB板上运行状况良好，并能对EPC Gen-2的协议标准的命令进行正确的编码解码。 最后通过研究学习软件无线电的理论和开发方法，把UHF　RFID读写器的射频前端分成射频模拟前端和射频数字前端，给出了一种基于软件无线电思想的UHF RFID射频数字前端设计模型，并借助于SIMULINK中的信号处理工具箱对构建的数字前端的进行仿真验证，仿真结果验证了用软件无线电实现UHF RFID数字前端的可行性。

Numerical analysis of bodyworn UHF antenna systems

Bodyworn antennas are found in a wide range of medical, military and personal communication applications, yet reliable communication from the surface of the human body still presents a range of engineering challenges. At UHF and microwave frequencies, bodyworn antennas can suffer from reduced efficiency due to electromagnetic absorption in tissue, radiation pattern fragmentation and variations in feed-point impedance. The significance and nature of these effects are system specific and depend on the operating frequency, propagation environment and physical constraints on the antenna itself. This paper describes how numerical electromagnetic modelling techniques such as FDTD (finite-difference time-domain) can be used in the design of bodyworn antennas. Examples are presented for 418 MHz, 916 .5 MHz and 2 . 45 GHz, in the context of both biomedical signalling and wireless personal-area networking applications such as the Bluetooth(TM)* wireless technology.

In situ measurement of UHF wearable antenna radiation efficiency using a reverberation chamber

The radiation efficiency and resonance frequency of five compact antennas worn by nine individual test subjects was measured at 2.45 GHz in a reverberation chamber. The results show that, despite significant differences in body mass, wearable antenna radiation efficiency had a standard deviation less than 0.6 dB and the resonance frequency shift was less than 1% between test subjects. Variability in the radiation efficiency and resonance frequency shift between antennas was largely dependant on body tissue coupling which is related to both antenna geometry and radiation characteristics. The reverberation chamber measurements were validated using a synthetic tissue phantom and compared with results obtained in a spherical near field chamber and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation.

Hybrid image/ray-shooting UHF radio propagation predictor for populated indoor environments

A novel model for indoor wireless communication, based on a dual image and ray-shooting approach, is presented. The model, capable of improved site-specific indoor propagation prediction, considers multiple human bodies moving within the environment. In a modern office at 2.45GHz, the combined effect of pedestrian traffic and a moving receiver causes rapid temporal fading of up to 30dB.

Vaginal temperature sensing using UHF radio telemetry

User induced errors are common when women repetitively employ conventional probe type thermometers to chart their basal body temperatures in an effort to indicate ovulation. An alternative technique employing a two-part telemetric thermometer is proposed, with low-power, SAWR-controlled UHF radio as the transmission medium. Worn overnight in the vagina, the 1 mu W erp telemetry transmitter sends pulse modulated data continuously to a microcontroller in a nearby receiver; a real time clock enables programmable sampling and storage of the subject's temperature to 0.1 degrees C resolution. Initial clinical results indicate an enhanced performance compared to oral and axillary temperature trends taken by a mercury-in-glass thermometer. Polar plots of both the isolated and body-worn telemetry transmitte are presented; body indced attenuations of up to 30 dB were measured.

Transmission characteristics of a vaginally-worn UHF radio telemeter

A vaginally-worn temperature telemeter may be used by women to chart their basal body temperature for ovulation detection. The telemeter uses a temperature to pulse width converter to key a Colpitts oscillator which is controlled in frequency by a 418 MHz SAW resonator. The circuit’s tank inductor acts as a compact, multi-turn loop antenna with a radiated power in isolation of around 1 uW. The transmission characteristics of the system are affected by the proximity of the human body, which acts as an electrically-large lossy dielectric. The RF link-budget must allow for the reduction in total emitted power, directional body-induced fading, and polarization effects. The polar power patterns of the telemeter were measured for both isolated and in-situ cases, using horizontal and vertical polarization. The power patterns were numerically integrated to determine relative emitted power, and a reference dipole used to determine the emitted power for the isolated device. In isolation the telemeter radiation is vertically polarized and isotropic in nature. With the telemeter in-situ, total body absorption was found to be over 20 dB, with directional fades of up to 40 dB; there was extensive cross-polarization, with up to 60% of radiated power horizontally polarized. With limited radiated power and directional fading, the operating range for the telemeter is limited to single room operation (less than 10m). The majority of RF radiation is absorbed by the body, but the radiation hazard is negligible due to the low power level of the device. The high level of cross-polarization suggests that either horizontal or vertically polarized base-station antennas may be used.