Digital Forensics in Small Devices: RFID Tag Investigation

Near field communication techniques deploy the inductive coupling of the
RFID tag to reactive energy flowing around the RFID reader antenna and it
is only reliable in the applications such as access control, item level tagging,
animal tracking and the like, where the read range or distance is not an issue
(Flores et al., 2005; Kuo et al., 2007).
2.2.2.2 Far Field or Backscattering Communication
However, backscattering or far field communication uses “the process of
collecting an inbound signal (energy), changing the signal (the data it
carries), and reflecting it back to where it came from” (Sanghera et al.,
2007, p. 34).
Table 2.4: Data transfer techniques between RFID tags and readers (adapted
from Kuo et al., 2007, p. 294)
Technique Operation Frequency
Inductive Coupling
(Near Field)
Backscattering
(Far Field)
LF: (f < 135 KHz)
HF: (13.56 MHz)
UHF: (443.92 MHz) or
(860-930 MHz)
Microwave:(2.45 GHz) or
(5.8 GHz)
25
Example
Applications
Access control, animal
tracking, etc.,
Smart cart, item level
tagging/tracking, etc.,
Pallet level tracking,
container tracking,
item level tracking,
etc.,
Item level tracking,
baggage handling, etc.,
Unlike, the near field RFID tag antenna which is mainly a coil (its physical
size slightly depends on the radio frequency used); Flores et al., (2005)
explains that the far field tag antenna is typically a dipole which is half a