Glossary of RFID Terms

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T

Tag: See RFID tag
Tag excitation device: A term coined by the RFID Alliance Lab to refer to a device that sends signals to the tag regardless of the make or manufacturer. TED is used to measure the response of tags scientficially.
Tag talks first: A means by which a reader in a passive UHF system identifies tags in the field. When tags enter the reader's field, they immediately communicate their presence by reflecting back a signal. This is useful when you want to know everything that is passing a reader, such as when items are moving quickly on a conveyor. In other cases, the reader wants to simply find specific tags in a field, in which case it wants to broadcast a signal and have only certain tags respond. (See Reader talks first.)
Tamper-evident tag: An RFID tag that communicates to a reader when a package or container has been opened without authorization.
TDMA: See time division multiple access
TED: See tag excitation device
Time division multiple access: A method of solving the problem of the signals of two readers colliding. Algorithms are used to make sure the readers attempt to read tags at different times.
Track and trace: The process of retrieving information about the movement and location of goods.
Transceiver: A device that both transmits and receives radio waves.
Transponder: A radio transmitter-receiver that is activated when it receives a predetermined signal. RFID transponders come in many forms, including smart labels, simple tags, smart cards and keychain fobs. RFID tags are sometimes referred to as transponders.
Type A Reference Interval (TARI): The duration of a pulse of energy sent to UHF EPC Gen 2 tags to indicate a 0 in binary code. EPC Gen 2-compliant readers use pulse interval encoding (PIE) to code binary data. A binary '0' is indicated by a short, high-level pulse, followed by a low pulse of equal length. The length of a TARI can vary from 6.25 to 25 microseconds.