The Tagformance lite measurement unit is not just an RFID tester, it is essentially a network analyzer with RFID capabilities. The unit includes means for generating an RF carrier and for modulating the carrier with an arbitrary waveform, for example a stimulus to an RFID tag. In addition, the unit includes a quadrature detector for recording small signals, such as tag responses. A simplified block diagram of the measurement electronics is shown below.
The key features of the electronics are:
1) Sharing the carrier signal between the transmit and receive paths minimizes phase noise, and allows the detection of small tag responses
2) The baseband data acquisition block allows very quick turn-around times needed in implementing the Gen2 protocol
3) The output and input power levels are calibrated and traceable
2) The baseband data acquisition block allows very quick turn-around times needed in implementing the Gen2 protocol
3) The output and input power levels are calibrated and traceable
