A 13.56 MHz adiabatic smart card / RFID

This paper presents a novel smart card / RFID tag based on the adiabatic quasi-static CMOS (AQS-CMOS) logic, which stores a unique ID code for use in secure authentication applications. The tag operates at 13.56 MHz carrier frequency with a data rate of 200 Kbps, which is the de-facto standard for item level identification. The AC-powered AQS-CMOS logic allows the tag directly powered by the RF carrier without needing a full wave rectifier and a regulator circuit for AC to DC conversion. This new architecture reduces chip size and power consumption of an RFID tag. A 64-bits RFID tag test chip is being fabricated with a 0.35 micron standard CMOS process. The test chip size is 0.3 mm² and the simulated power consumption is around 20 uW.