What is a “passive” RFID tag?
Passive tag technology was designed to meet the needs of high volume users, the tag devices being small, low cost, short-range devices. Passive technology is generally used for access control, and applications where high-speed data collection is not required. The tag contains no power source, and receives energy from the reading device. The reader is a radio transmitter and antenna system designed to accept the very weak radio signal from the tag, once energized. Tags may be read only, or read write, with the ability for the user to update and therefore hard code information to the tag. Typical applications are for hands free access control, peat and animal tagging inventory management, and asset control. Tags range from miniature 2.12mm glass injectable tags for pet identification, to 50mm and above tags for industrial applications. Tags may be programmed with unique or sequential identification markers, and are available in many sizes and formats. To further confuse matters, passive
