More RFID tags for the god of RFID tags!
Since the publication It's been almost 7 years now. For these , a huge number of RFID tags and smart cards have accumulated in pockets: secure cards (for example, permits or bank cards), ski passes, public transport passes, without which in some Netherlands, there’s absolutely no way, then something else .
In general, it is time to sort out all this menagerie, which is presented at the KDPV. In a new series of articles about RFID and smart cards, I will continue a long story about the market, technologies and the internal structure of a really micro-chips, without which our daily life is no longer conceivable, starting from control over the circulation of goods (for example, ) and ending with the construction of skyscrapers. In addition, during this time, new players (for example, Chinese) pulled themselves up in addition to the worth talking about.
As usual, the narrative will be divided into thematic parts, which I will post as much as I can, opportunities and access to equipment.
foreword
So, it is probably worth recalling that the opening of marks for me was a continuation of the hobby of working with electron microscopy and cutting way back in 2012. IN the theory of the functioning of RFID tags was briefly considered, and several of the most common and available tags at that time were opened and dismantled.
To this article, perhaps, little can be added today: all the same 3 (4) most common standards LF (120-150 kHz), HF (13.65 MHz - the vast majority of tags operate in this range), UHF (in fact, there are two frequency ranges 433 and 866 MHz), followed by ; the same principles of operation - the induction of the power supply of the chip by radio waves and the processing of the incoming signal with the issuance of information back to the receiver.
In general, an RFID tag looks something like this: a substrate, an antenna, and the chip itself.
Tag-it label from Texas Instruments
However, the "landscape" of the use of these marks in everyday life has seriously changed.
If in 2012 NFC () was an oddity in a smartphone that it was not clear how and where it could be used. And giants such as Sony, for example, actively promoted NFC and RFID as a way to connect devices (a column from the first Sony Xperia, which connects magically from touching the phone - Wow! Shock content!) and change states (for example, came home, swiped on the label, the phone turned on the sound, connected to WiFi, etc.), which, according to my feelings, was not very popular.
Then in 2019, only the lazy one does not use wireless cards (still the same NFC by and large), phones with virtual cards (the sister urgently required NFC in it when changing the phone) and other “simplifiers” of life based on this technology. RFID has become an integral part of our daily life: one-time bus passes, cards for access to many office buildings and not only buildings, mini-wallets within organizations (such as ) "and others, and others, and others."
Actually, that is why such a huge number of tags have accumulated, each of which I want to open and see what is hidden inside: whose chip is installed? is he protected? what kind of antenna is it?
But first things first…
It was these tiny bits of silicon that made our world the way we know it today.
A few words about opening tags
Let me remind you that in order to get to the chip itself, it is necessary to deprocess the product using some chemical reagents. For example, remove the shell (usually, it is a card or a round plastic label with an antenna inside), carefully disconnect the chip from the antenna, wash the chip itself from glue / insulator, sometimes remove parts of the antenna that are tightly soldered to the contact pads, and only then see chip and its layout.
Deprocessing is a complicated feeling
In recent years, the materials that are used to attach chips have been incredibly improved. On the one hand, this increased the reliability of chip fastening and reduced the amount of scrap; on the other hand, simply boiling in acetone or concentrated sulfuric acid to dissolve or burn the organics will now fail to wash the chip. You have to be smart, select a mixture of acids in order to remove unnecessary layers, but at the same time not damage the fiery motor of the chip metallization.
Difficulties of deprocessing: when the glue from the chip is not washed off under any circumstances… Here and further LM – laser microscopy, OM – optical microscopy
Or so...
Sometimes, of course, you have a little more luck and the chip, even with an insulating layer, turns out to be relatively clean, which does not greatly affect the picture quality:
NB: handling of concentrated acids and solvents should be carried out in a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors! Do not try this at home, in the kitchen!
Part practical
As I already noted at the very beginning of the article, each part will present separate types or several labels: transport (public transport and ski passes), secure (mainly smart cards), “everyday” and so on.
Let's start today with the simplest labels that can be found almost everywhere. Let's call them "everyday tags" because you can find them almost everywhere: from a marathon number to a conference and delivery of goods.
The tags discussed in this article are highlighted in blue dotted line
Long range UHF tags
Many readers of Habr are engaged in and love sports. Over the past few years, there has been a pronounced trend to participate in various races, half marathons and even marathons. For the sake of a medal sometimes .
Usually, before the start of the event, a participant number is issued with small foam inserts on the sides, behind which - oh horror - the notorious RFID tag is hidden. Paranoids definitely need to be on their guard when participating in such events! Not really. Since mass start is used in such competitions, it is required to record the time of each participant from the moment of crossing the starting line to the finish line. Running through a special frame in the form of start and finish gates, each participant starts and, accordingly, stops an invisible stopwatch.
The labels look like this:
As practice has shown, even in Switzerland there are at least two marks that are used in this kind of mass events. They differ both in antennas (conditionally, narrow and wide), and in the device of the chip. True, in both cases this is the most ordinary chip, without protection, without any bells and whistles and, apparently, with little memory. And, as practice has shown, also from this manufacturer - .
It is difficult for me to judge whether anything is written to the chip, most likely it simply serves for identification. If you know more - write in the comments!
Chip from IMPINJ and wide antenna
This mark has already been . You can read more about the Monza R6 tag from the American manufacturer IMPINJ .
LM (left) and OM (right) images at 50x magnification.
HD picture can be downloaded
The other time tracking looks a little more complicated than the Monza R6 chip, and the chip lacks any markings, so it's hard to compare the two.
"UFO" chip from an "unknown" manufacturer
As it turned out in the course of dancing with a tambourine around this chip: the manufacturer is the same - IMPINJ, and the code name of the chip is Monza 4. You can read more
LM (left) and OM (right) images at 50x magnification.
HD picture can be downloaded
Near Field Tags in Transportation and Logistics
Let's go further, RFID tags are successfully used in transportation and logistics for automated / semi-automated accounting of goods.
So, for example, when I ordered RayBan glasses, a similar RFID tag was installed inside the box. The chip is marked as SL3S1204V1D from 2014 and is manufactured by NXP.
One of the difficulties of working with modern RFID is to wash the chip from glue and insulation ...
Label information can be read . Label Class/Standard – RFID. By the way, at the end of the document, it's funny to watch the change log, which partly demonstrates the process of bringing the label to the market. Applications include inventory management in retail and fashion. Therefore, the next time you buy a relatively expensive item ($200+), take a closer look, maybe you will also find a similar label.
LM (left) and OM (right) images at 50x magnification.
HD decided not to do...
Another example is another box (although I don’t remember where I got it from), on which such a “commodity” label was pasted on the inside.
Unfortunately, I did not find documentation for this particular chip, but there is a pdf on the NXP website on . The chip is manufactured under the EPC G2iL(+) standard and appears to have tamper alarm protection. It works primitively, just breaking the OUT-VDD jumper causes the flag to fire and the label becomes inoperative.
Have something to add? Write in the comments!
LM (left) and OM (right) images at 50x magnification.
HD picture can be downloaded
Conferences and exhibitions
A typical case of using RFID for quick identification of a person is various badges at conferences, exhibitions and other events. In this case, the participant does not have to leave his business card or exchange contacts in the traditional way, it is enough just to bring the badge to the reader and all contact information has already migrated to the counterparty. And this is in addition to the traditional registration and entrance to the exhibition.
Inside the tag, which I got after the IMAC industry exhibition, was a round antenna with a chip from NXP MF0UL1VOC, in other words, the new generation of MIFARE. Detailed information can be found .
One of the characteristic examples of the use of smart badges at the IMAC exhibition
LM (left) and OM (right) images at 50x magnification.
HD picture can be downloaded
By the way, for those who like to see not only the hardware, but also the software part of the tag, screenshots from the NFC-Reader program will be presented below, where you can also see the type and class of the tag, memory size, encryption, and more.
Unexpectedly secure chip
In conclusion, I would like to note the last mark that fell into analysis in the first cohort of “everyday” marks. I got it from the time of cooperation with Prestigio. The main purpose of the tag is to perform some predefined action, for example, in the smart home ecosystem (turn on the light, start playing music, etc.). What was my surprise that, firstly, opening it turned out to be even that entertainment, and, secondly, a surprise-surprises awaited me inside in the form of a fully protected chip.
Well, we will have to postpone it until better times, when it comes to secure chips - we will return to it. By the way, if you are interested in learning more about the possibilities of protecting and using RFID in various fields of activity, I recommend this .
Instead of a conclusion
We have not finished with “everyday” tags yet, in the second part we are waiting for the wonderful world of Chinese RFID and even with Chinese chips. Stay tuned!
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