Long Range Retro-Reflector
Passive retro-reflectors that modulate a scattered RF signal but do not transmit in their own right are well known.
They are widely used in RFID tags, and keyless entry systems with a number of standardised solutions defined within the industry.
The main advantage of these systems is that the mobile unit (the tag) can either avoid completely the use of a battery by powering itself from the incident RF ‘interrogating’ signal or only require a very small battery with a long life.
This enables a ‘disposable’ tag to be engineered at very low cost, size and weight.
However, there are many potential applications that require a somewhat longer transmission range than can sensibly be achieved with this method.
The conventional paradigm requires a higher power ‘interrogating’ signal in order to increase range and there are obvious limits to how far this can be taken.
The combination of regulatory restrictions and the steep range vs power slope that results from the fundamental mode of operation generally restrict the range to a few metres at most.
Plextek have been taking a fresh look at the possible ways of circumventing this obstacle to produce a long range device that is nevertheless RF passive (does not transmit but only scatters).
This paper describes in outline some ideas in this space, some initial experiments that have been done and some potential applications of the techniques.
Access this Technical Paper
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