A fully integrated UHF RFID reader SoC for handheld applications in the 0.18 μm CMOS process

A low cost fully integrated single-chip UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) reader SoC for short distance handheld applications is presented. The SoC integrates all building blocks—including an RF transceiver, a PLL frequency synthesizer, a digital baseband and an MCU—in a 0.18 μm CMOS process. A high-linearity RX front-end is designed to handle the large self-interferer. A class-E power amplifier with high power efficiency is also integrated to fulfill the function of a UHF passive RFID reader. The measured maximum output power of the transmitter is 20.28 dBm and the measured receiver sensitivity is −60 dBm. The digital baseband including MCU core consumes 3.91 mW with a clock of 10 MHz and the analog part including power amplifier consumes 368.4 mW. The chip has a die area of 5.1 × 3.8 mm2 including pads.