A versatile NFC-based RFID Sensor Platform

In recent years, radio frequency identification technology has become increasingly important, not only due to the integration of near-field communication reading capabilities in smart phone devices, but also due to the integration of other functionalities in the controller ICs available on the market. While it was initially only possible to read out a unique identification number, modern controllers are capable to transmit measurement results from sensors via the standard protocol. This opened a myriad of applications, where wireless measurements need to be performed with minimal costs at small size and with a small ecologic footprint. Especially, if combined with modern printed electronics technologies, radio frequency identification sensor tags can be realized very efficiently. The evolution of such wireless sensors would benefit greatly from a universal platform that allows the sensor element, the controller, and the antenna structure to be developed, optimized and verified separately. Therefore, this paper presents the development of such a universal near field communication-based sensor platform, employing a temperature measurement system for demonstration purposes. The modular design guarantees maximum flexibility and a significant reduction in development time for printed sensor systems since the required controller chip does not have to be integrated until the final design.