Improved Channel Coding for Next-Generation RFID

The selection of channel codes for backscatter RFID tag-to-reader communications has always been preoccupied with minimal cost, low chip complexity, low power consumption, and the poor sensitivities of early-2000s RFID readers. For example, the ISO 18000-6C standard for UHF RFID tags employs FM0 modulation-an extraordinarily simple scheme that does not maximize throughput. We demonstrate how higher-rate channel codes can be applied to the RFID backscatter link without incurring significant penalties in cost, complexity, power consumption, or read ranges for today's readers. For example, a simple 6/8 balanced block code is shown to increase the throughput in a typical UHF channel by at least 50% with a simple electronic implementation that increases RFID chip device count by less than 1%.