A Proximity-Activated UHF RFID Tag with a Detachable Coupling Loop for Enhanced Physical Layer Security.
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| Title: | A Proximity-Activated UHF RFID Tag with a Detachable Coupling Loop for Enhanced Physical Layer Security. |
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| Authors: | Othmani, Hamza1 hamza.othmani.official@gmail.com, Azizi, Mohamed K.2, Catarinucci, Luca3 |
| Source: | Progress in Electromagnetics Research C. 2026, Vol. 169, p230-241. 12p. |
| Subjects: | Physical layer security, Magnetic coupling, Security management, Antenna design, Impedance matching, Radio frequency identification systems |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a proximity-activated UHF RFID tag based on a discrete-component architecture aimed at enhancing user privacy at the physical layer. The RFID chip is physically separated from the main meandered dipole antenna and mounted on a detachable coupling loop. Tag activation occurs only when the loop is positioned at approximately 1 mm from the antenna, enabling nearfield inductive coupling and conjugate impedance matching. In the default configuration, the chip remains effectively unreadable, while selective activation is achieved by applying the external coupling loop when tag interrogation is required. Two coupling-loop geometries are investigated: a simple rectangular loop and a multi-turn spiral loop, both integrated with capacitively loaded dipole antennas optimized for the European UHF RFID band at 866 MHz. Full-wave simulations confirm the intended on/off behavior, with minimum reflection coefficients of -34.8 dB at 866.7 MHz and -31.1 dB at 867 MHz, respectively. When the loop is removed, both designs exhibit severe impedance mismatch across the operating band. Experimental results validate the proposed concept. The rectangular loop achieves a peak read range of 6.0 m, while the spiral loop reaches 0.7 m. Misalignment tests indicate that both configurations maintain functionality under practical lateral and vertical offsets. Overall, the rectangular loop provides a wider and more robust activation region, making it suitable for applications requiring controlled, on-demand RFID readability for product authentication and quality verification without continuous exposure to RFID tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Progress in Electromagnetics Research C is the property of Electromagnetics Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 193720675 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: A Proximity-Activated UHF RFID Tag with a Detachable Coupling Loop for Enhanced Physical Layer Security. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Othmani%2C+Hamza%22">Othmani, Hamza</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> hamza.othmani.official@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Azizi%2C+Mohamed+K%2E%22">Azizi, Mohamed K.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Catarinucci%2C+Luca%22">Catarinucci, Luca</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Progress+in+Electromagnetics+Research+C%22">Progress in Electromagnetics Research C</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 169, p230-241. 12p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Physical+layer+security%22">Physical layer security</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magnetic+coupling%22">Magnetic coupling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Security+management%22">Security management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Antenna+design%22">Antenna design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Impedance+matching%22">Impedance matching</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Radio+frequency+identification+systems%22">Radio frequency identification systems</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: This paper presents a proximity-activated UHF RFID tag based on a discrete-component architecture aimed at enhancing user privacy at the physical layer. The RFID chip is physically separated from the main meandered dipole antenna and mounted on a detachable coupling loop. Tag activation occurs only when the loop is positioned at approximately 1 mm from the antenna, enabling nearfield inductive coupling and conjugate impedance matching. In the default configuration, the chip remains effectively unreadable, while selective activation is achieved by applying the external coupling loop when tag interrogation is required. Two coupling-loop geometries are investigated: a simple rectangular loop and a multi-turn spiral loop, both integrated with capacitively loaded dipole antennas optimized for the European UHF RFID band at 866 MHz. Full-wave simulations confirm the intended on/off behavior, with minimum reflection coefficients of -34.8 dB at 866.7 MHz and -31.1 dB at 867 MHz, respectively. When the loop is removed, both designs exhibit severe impedance mismatch across the operating band. Experimental results validate the proposed concept. The rectangular loop achieves a peak read range of 6.0 m, while the spiral loop reaches 0.7 m. Misalignment tests indicate that both configurations maintain functionality under practical lateral and vertical offsets. Overall, the rectangular loop provides a wider and more robust activation region, making it suitable for applications requiring controlled, on-demand RFID readability for product authentication and quality verification without continuous exposure to RFID tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Progress in Electromagnetics Research C is the property of Electromagnetics Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.2528/PIERC26030101 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 12 StartPage: 230 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Physical layer security Type: general – SubjectFull: Magnetic coupling Type: general – SubjectFull: Security management Type: general – SubjectFull: Antenna design Type: general – SubjectFull: Impedance matching Type: general – SubjectFull: Radio frequency identification systems Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: A Proximity-Activated UHF RFID Tag with a Detachable Coupling Loop for Enhanced Physical Layer Security. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Othmani, Hamza – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Azizi, Mohamed K. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Catarinucci, Luca IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 07 Text: 2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 19378718 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 169 Titles: – TitleFull: Progress in Electromagnetics Research C Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
