Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: Flomerics | Subject: MicroStripes
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 01 August 2007
Simulation cuts RF design cycle and
boosts quality
RFID label manufacturer slashes development cycles by using MicroStripes electromagnetic simulation software.
Sentronik has reduced the time required to develop radio frequency identification (RFID) labels from 7 to 10 days previously to 2 to 3 days currently by simulating the labels with Flomerics' MicroStripes electromagnetic simulation software Sentronik has also been able to improve the read rate on labels to between 99 and 100% by optimising their design in the simulation domain
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Nov 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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"Simulation greatly improves the design process by enabling our engineers to evaluate the performance of many possible designs without having to build physical prototypes", says Georg Siegel, Chief Executive Office of Sentronik.
Sentronik is a leading supplier of RFID labels for a wide range of applications in the manufacturing, distribution and retail industries.
The company specialises in building custom labels that provide high read rates in tough applications where conventional labels fail.
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Sarantel has signed a contract worth US $620,000 over three years for multiple licences of Flomerics' MicroStripes 3D electromagnetic simulation software.
Simulation answers antenna design challenge
ProLogic solved a tough antenna design challenge by simulating the design with MicroStripes electromagnetic simulation software.
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Version 7.5 of MicroStripes 3D EM simulation solution for RF/microwave and antenna design integrates with Applied Wave Research's Microwave Office circuit design software.
Design of RFID labels is challenging because of the difficulty of sorting out the many factors that can affect performance, such as the material to which the tags are attached, the orientation of the tags, power constraints, operating frequency variations, and other factors.
These problems are difficult to address using traditional experimental methods because the large number of design parameters that impact read performance means that only a small area of the design space can be explored using physical experiments.
In the past, Sentronik engineers relied on calculations with spreadsheets and math calculation programs.
These calculations were only rough approximations because they did not take the geometry of the labels and environment into account.
"MicroStripes has substantially improved our design process by providing an environment that enables to us to define the geometry of a new design and predict its performance", says Siegel.
"We originally selected MicroStripes software because it is easier to use than other electromagnetic simulation software that we looked at".
"We also modelled several of our existing designs in the software and checked the results against physical tests and saw that they provided a very good match".
Sentronik engineers usually begin the simulation process by importing a DWG file containing the geometry of the initial concept design into MicroStripes.
They assign material properties to the different components of the label.
They typically begin by exciting the label in free space with a wire feed and calculate the return and radiation pattern of the antenna.
Engineers often evaluate many different designs until they are happy with the performance.
The next step is simulating the performance of the label in a more realistic environment.
Then they re-tune the antenna to resonate at the desired frequency in its installed environment.
"MicroStripes makes it possible to validate and optimise the performance of our designs before we even build the first prototype", adds Siegel.
"This saves time and avoids wasting money building prototypes that don't work".
"We can predict the return loss and radiation pattern of RFID tags under a wide range of real-world operating conditions in order to ensure high read rates".
"Electromagnetic simulation gives us a significant competitive advantage by helping us to design labels that provide better performance than those of our competitors". Request a free brochure from Flomerics ...
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