Apr 24, 2013NXP Semiconductors has announced its latest, highest-performance ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID integrated circuit, which, according to the company, promises higher read and write sensitivity for EPC UHF tags incorporating the new chip. The Ucode 7's development began approximately a year ago, says Victor Vega, NXP's marketing director for RFID products, in order to stay ahead of the retail market's demands.
During the past few months, manufacturers of RFID tags, readers and printers have been testing the technology. In addition, one tag manufacturer, Avery Dennison's Retail Branding and Information Services (RBIS) division, has already created new products made with the new chip, including a small global tag that, the company claims, provides high read sensitivity whether used in the United States, Europe or Asia. These early efforts, Vega says, which took place ahead of the public announcement, were intended to ensure that if NXP released this new high-speed, highly sensitive chip, the market was ready to provide the technology (inlays, as well as readers and printers) equipped to use it.
Furthermore, Zebra Technologies has tested the IC and confirmed that its new, faster encoding functionality will operate with Zebra printers, while Motorola Solutions has run tests involving its readers to ensure that the Ucode 7's read and write functionality operates with its existing hardware.
The Ucode 7 chip's new features include increased read and write sensitivity (meaning the chip requires less power to be read or encoded than previous NXP chips), as well as greater backscatter strength (to improve read performance), faster writing speed, parallel encoding to enable faster encoding when tags of the same stock-keeping unit (SKU) are commissioned (enabled by automatic self-serialization) and greater broadband width to enable improved functionality internationally where the frequency of the reader's RF signal varies from region to region. NXP will demonstrate the new Ucode 7 chip at RFID Journal LIVE! 2013, being held from Apr. 30 to May 2 in Orlando, Fla.
NXP's goal, Vega explains, was to create a best-in-class product for RFID tags typically used in the apparel market, in which tags must be encoded as well as read in high volumes as a product is tagged, and then shipped through distribution centers and received by stores. While sensitivity and speed in a UHF chip's read performance have recently plateaued, he says, the Ucode 7 chip aims to further increase reader performance, but also increase writing speed and sensitivity.
While the Ucode 7's predecessor, NXP's G2iL chip, could be read when receiving a reader signal as low as -17 dBm (decibels per milliwatt) in power, the Ucode 7 can be read if the received signal is only -21 dBm. Most UHF tags offer sensitivity between -14 dBm and -18 dBm. The writing sensitivity with the new chip has increased from -8 dBm with the G2IL to -16 dBm with the Ucode 7, Vega reports. "We went from frankly trailing in that area to the absolute leader," he says.
The chip also comes with a wider broadband width—from approximately 840 to 960 MHz—with sensitivity closer to that of chips focused on a specific frequency band, such as the North American, European or Asian band. "Because of the broadband nature of the chip, [tag companies] can now design global tags," explains Suresh Palliparambil, NXP's RFID business-development director, "with the flexibility to be used globally." This will enable product manufacturers and retailers to use the same label or tag across the entire global supply chain, the company reports, thereby reducing operating costs.
The Ucode 7's own backscatter transmission strength is greater than that of previous chips, Vega says, thereby improving a reader's ability to detect the signal of a tag made with the chip. This more-powerful backscatter strength, he notes, is particularly important for smaller tag sizes.
The chip also comes with a feature known as parallel encoding, intended to provide fast programming in scenarios in which users are encoding a large quantity of tags for products with the same SKU. This method involves encoding the chip's first two 32-bit blocks to indicate the SKU of the product to be tagged, as well as the product's manufacturer—a process that can be accomplished in less than 40 milliseconds. When the tag is later interrogated, its chip will provide the encoded two blocks indicating the SKU and company identity, along with its own existing serial number—consisting of the three-bit chip manufacturer code (in this instance, 111 for NXP), as well as 35 bits from the chip's unique tag ID (UTID)— to the reader, which serves as the full 96-bit RFID number. In that way, a large number of tags for a specific SKU can be encoded simultaneously, provided that the user does not require the encoding of its own serial numbers. With this method, users could encode 100 tags in about 40 milliseconds.
After testing was conducted on RFID labels made with the Ucode 7 chip, says Michael Fein, Zebra Technologies' senior RFID product manager, the company's printers can now provide the parallel-encoding functionality. "Today," he states, "the parallel-encode feature allows Zebra's RFID printers to provide UHF-encoded tags that can uniquely identify assets." Looking ahead, he adds, "the parallel-encode feature will help Zebra customers achieve higher productivity and efficiency, while enhancing product throughput of its printers."
Mark Hill, Avery Dennison RBIS' VP and general manager for global innovation and solutions development, says his company has been working closely with NXP for more than a year, as the chip maker developed the Ucode 7. Avery Dennison RBIS plans to release new inlays made with Ucode 7 chips next month. "There are a couple of things that excite us about these products," Hill says. One of its Ucode tags, the AD-235u7, measures 3 inches by 1 inch and can be designed for use on jeans or other apparel, while another, the AD-370u7, is designed for smaller items. All of the Ucode 7 tags will offer greater read sensitivity, Hill notes, and even the smaller tag will be easy to read globally, rather than being focused for the North American or European market.
Although no customers are yet using the new tags, Hill says, several have tested them. "We've had very good feedback on the performance," he states. One key benefit of the tags, he adds, will be that store employees will have the required sensitivity increase to make it easier to perform inventory checks on shelves. "It's a new level of performance that will help our customers meet their needs" with RFID.
The chip measures 445 microns by 490 microns (0.018 inch by 0.0l9 inch), and could be smaller, Palliparambil notes—though to date, the industry cannot work with chips smaller than that size. It comes with 128 bits of memory. Pricing for the chip is expected to be equivalent to that of the G2iL model.
According to Vega, the new chip's greater sensitivity and write speed will make it possible for tags to be used in ways in which they have not been previously utilized. For example, he says, it will now be easier for companies to apply very small tags to such items as cosmetics and jewelry. The chip is commercially available now, he reports, and is being sampled by "the major players" in RFID tag technology.
Because the chip has already been tested by multiple RFID companies, Palliparambil says, users can be confident that the technology will work as promised.
