RFID: identification of optical fibers

RFID stands for Radio Frequency IDentification: it is the wireless use of electromagnetic files to transfer data for the purpose of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects.

A RFID system consists of four elements:

a radio transmitter-receiver (READER), that reads and writes data

an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal  

one or more transponder (TAG)

a software for managing the data transmission

When the reader is integrated in the product, we have an Embedded RFID that is ready to interact with tagged objects.

Embedded RFID technology can be applied in various fields, mostly for:

- Product authentication (counterfeit prevention): the product will work only with tagged items, thus ensuring the use of original parts only.

- Access control: RFID can be installed in turnstiles or handheld devices to control access points.

- Retail anti-theft (shoplifting prevention): a tag applied to, attached to or incorporated into a product will track the item and detect its unauthorized passage by the shop doors.

- Protection against tampering: both the product containing embedded RFID and the tag must not be tampered in order to be able to use the product.

In all these applications, Embedded RFID technology offers higher efficiency compared to other technologies in use so far. In particular, no human intervention is required for the RFID reader to read the tag: this reduces or eliminates the need of visual reading that might cause errors in the usage of the product. Moreover, RFID allows data writing and storing in the tag, thus ensuring that the track record of the product is stored in the tag placed on the product itself.

As regards optical fibers, Embedded RFID is used to detect the presence and the type of optical fiber connected to the laser source. More advanced versions allow to store the number of times the fiber has been used.

Usually the reader and the antenna are attached to the panel of the laser source and the tag is incorporated in the connector of the optical fiber: without the tag, the laser source will not operate.

This ensures that only optical fibers produced for that specific type of laser source are used, as well as the optimization of the number of uses of the optical fiber, thus reducing to a minimum the problems of compatibility between optical fibers and laser source.