What Is the Difference Between an RFID Tag and an RFID Chip?

By RFID Journal

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Ask The ExpertsWhat Is the Difference Between an RFID Tag and an RFID Chip?
RFID Journal Staff asked 11 years ago

Please explain what each term means. Thanks.

—Neeraja

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Neeraja,

"RFID tag" is a generic term for a functioning transponder. A tag, at minimum, includes a chip and an antenna mounted on a substrate. It can be in the form of a smart label that could have a bar code or human-readable characters printed on it, or it could be a simple inlay that can be affixed to a box or some other object.

An RFID chip is a semiconductor chip that is the brains of an RFID tag. Without an antenna attached to the chip, it will not function. A passive tag requires energy from a reader to be captured by the antenna in order to power up the chip, which modulates and demodulates the antenna to reflect back a single to the reader antenna.

—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal

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