ams announced next-generation sensor-enabled RFID tags enabling simple, low-cost wireless data-logging applications. The new device SL13A is an ISO15693-compliant tag for use with near field communications (NFC-V) and high-frequency radio-frequency identification (HF RFID) readers. A second device, the SL900A, is an EPC Gen 2 Class 3 tag for use with RFID readers.


The devices include an on-board temperature sensor, an interface to an external sensor, and can operate in passive (batteryless) mode. In this mode, the tag harvests energy from a reader’s broadcast, using the power to read the temperature or data from an external sensor, and transmits the information back to the reader together with a unique ID. The data is time-stamped by the reader.

 

The devices can also be powered by a single-cell or 3V battery. In this mode, the tag’s on-board real-time clock is enabled and can be used to trigger periodic sensor readings. Up to 762 (SL13A) or 841 (SL900A) time-stamped events may be saved in the on-chip EEPROM, from where they may be read when the device is in range of a reader.