VLSI design of spread spectrum encoding low power RFID tag baseband processor

Abstract

Due to the weak signal energy of the backscatter link, traditional RFID communication is easily affected by noises, interferences, and interceptions from the environment. To solve the problem, a novel passive UHF RFID tag baseband processor enhanced with spread spectrum technique is presented in this paper. In addition, power-saving strategies are proposed to reduce the power consumption of the tag. Simulated results show that spread spectrum approach largely reduces the Bit Error Rate and improves system's reliability and security. Finally, a complete RFID tag with the proposed baseband processor was designed and fabricated using 0.18um 1P6M CMOS technology. From the measurement result, the overall power consumption of the baseband processor is about 8.8uW at the minimum voltage of 1.04V.