Compact RFID Printer Module for WJ Communications, Inc. Dr. John Bellantoni, Liaison A Major Qualifying Project Report Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of bachelor of Science Submitted by: ___________________________________ Brett Ferguson
[email protected] ___________________________________ Ian Levesque
[email protected] ____________________________________ Jeremy Turner
[email protected] Approved by: ____________________________________ Project Advisor: Professor John Orr
[email protected] March 1, 2007 1 Abstract In order to advance the expanding RFID market with a truly unique product, this project focuses on the creation of a compact, short-range RFID module with integrated antenna. To achieve this goal, a prototype is constructed and tested following standard RF design techniques. The final module, named the WJM4000, reliably reads and writes RFID tags while featuring a smaller form factor and consuming less power than existing RFID designs. 2 Executive Summary Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been in use for over 50 years, but has only recently begun to experience massive growth in the form of new applications and implementations. Recent standardization efforts have created a market for a wide variety of RFID transponders (tags) and many different styles of readers and writers. One area of particular growth is inventory and supply-chain management, both industrial and commercial. This application commonly utilizes compact passive tags embedded within adhesive labels, which are printed with conventional barcode information, but also contain additional information in the form of EPC codes written into the embedded RFID tags. Major companies in the barcode industry, such as Zebra Technologies, have expanded their lines of barcode printers to include RFID functionality.