Chipless RFID Authentication

Counterfeit goods are a persistent problem, and this book explores how chipless radio frequency identification (RFID) can be used to build product authentication systems for manufactured items that are difficult to copy. Because these tags contain no chip, they can be produced at scale like ordinary printed labels, which makes them a possible successor to barcodes. The author shows that the randomness occurring naturally in the fabrication process gives each tag an individual signature that cannot be duplicated, even by someone who tries to copy the label.

The book opens with a survey of existing authentication and anti-counterfeiting methods, judged by how well each resists fraud. It then lays out a method for characterizing chipless tags used in authentication, followed by techniques for extracting parameters that stay the same regardless of how the tag is oriented relative to the reader.

From there, the author proposes tag designs and describes how the labels, which contain naturally occurring randomness, are fabricated and measured. Two production methods are covered: printed circuit boards and inkjet printing on polyethylene terephthalate (PET).