I am planning to conduct an experiment on the applications of HF RFID in a small-diameter pipe system (46 mm inner diameter). For this, I need an RFID chip capable of handling high speeds while maintaining a compact form factor.
After some research, I have identified the PN7160 as a suitable control chip. However, I now need to select an appropriate antenna that fits the constraints of this application.
What selection criteria should I consider when choosing an antenna for this setup? Additionally, do you carry any suitable products that meet these requirements?
I am adding the link to the DigiKey product page for the PN7160
PN7160 link
Hi sindrenogva,
Welcome to the TechForum.
In general, the larger the size of the antenna, the greater the range. How you intend to mount it and the materials used around it will also affect performance. Here’s a link to antenna designed for HF frequencies and which meet your physical dimension limits. You’ll want to peruse their respective datasheets for options such as having rear-side adhesive or ferrite material for shielding/signal enhancement purposes. (See this note for more on that topic).
Thank you for the reply. I have done some more reading, and it seems that some electrical parameters might influence the performance and compatibility between the PN7160 and the antenna. Here is a list with the range of acceptable values acquired from PN7160 antenna design and matching guide:
- Inductans: 0.3-3.0 microH (optimal around 1 microH)
- Capacitance: 1-30 pF
- Q-factor 15-20
- f_res > 25 MHz
Do you have any antennas that fit within those parameters?
@sindrenogva
We don’t list RFID antennas by the specs you outlined.
We list them by the Frequency they are for.
The below link shows all of the items we have for the 13.56Mhz.
The WM22479-ND as an example does have a 2.0µH rating. However that can be seen only when you review the data Molex lists for it.
https://www.molex.com/en-us/products/part-detail/1462360001?display=pdf
I didn’t see any that gave all specs listed above, but the Taoglas FXC.46 and FXC.40 antennas seem to be a good place to start. They are at the upper end of your size requirements and the listed specs are well withing range of those you list above.
The one spec they do not list is capacitance, but I suspect physical layout would probably strongly affect that value, so perhaps they do not list it for that reason.
