EM Microelectronic readies low frequency RFID ICs

PARIS – Swiss semiconductor manufacturer EM Microelectronic has introduced a new generation of low-frequency RFID (radio frequency identification) integrated circuits (ICs) targeting low cost solutions like industrial logistics, access control applications, waste management and animal identification.

EM Microelectronic (Marin, Switzerland) noted that its solutions, named EM4205/4305, are CMOS ICs intended for use in electronic Read/Write RF transponders.

In the company's EM4305 version, the circuit comes with enlarged pads and gold bumps for the two coil inputs. These pads are intended for direct antenna connection without need of a module support.

EM Microelectronics said the IC reads out data from its internal EEPROM and sends it out by switching on and off a resistive load in parallel to the coil using a large modulation index. Commands and EEPROM data updates can be executed by 100% AM modulation of the 125 kHz magnetic field.

EM Microelectronic indicated that its chips, ISO 11784/11785-compliant, can be configured alternatively with the FDX-B protocol for livestock applications, and can be set up to Manchester data encoding with RF/64 data rate.

The IC communication protocol is compatible with the existing EM4469/4569 family.