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A detailed guide to Alien Higgs UHF RFID Chips

  • Akansha Sharma
  • Jan 08, 2024
  • RFID
A detailed guide to Alien Higgs UHF RFID Chips

Although there are various global companies known for their innovation in Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, tag design and RFID chip manufacturing, Alien Higgs UHF RFID chips, by Alien Technology have emerged as key players designed to deliver optimal performance across various sectors and applications. These include retail, item-level tagging and tracking, aerospace, apparel, Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI), automotive, baggage, books, cases, documents, ID cards, labels, loyalty cards, pharmaceutical palettes, retail, etc.

The RFID chips designed and manufactured by Alien Technology are internationally compatible and approved for operation throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. 

Alien Technology is a California, USA based organizations, a prominent RFID company for over 25 years, designing and manufacturing industry best RFID ICs, inlays, labels, and readers that are compliant with EPCglobal gen2 and ISO/IEC 18000-6C communication protocols.

The following analysis explores the variants, specifications, and capabilities of Alien Higgs UHF RFID chips.
 

Alien Higgs UHF RFID Chips

Alien Higgs series chips operate at 860-960 MHz (UHF) frequency, which supports all requirements of the EPCglobal Gen2 specification. They work at deficient power levels yet provide sufficient backscatter signals to read tags within the range.

What are the various variants of Alien Higgs UHF RFID chips?

 Alien technology has developed various UHF RFID chips. The most commonly used types of chips (ICs) in RFID UHF technology are:

1. Alien Higgs 3

The Alien Higg 3 is a high-performance, single-chip UHF RFID chip that operates at 860-960 MHz (UHF band). It provides worldwide functionalities for enhanced IC security. It features dynamic authentication using a non-digital, unique, and non-cloneable "fingerprint," which helps to eliminate counterfeiting or goods of higher value. 

Specifications for Alien Higgs 3

1. Protocol: EPCglobal Gen2 | ISO/IEC 18000-6C

2. Frequency: 860-960 MHz

3. Memory: 800-Bits of Nonvolatile Memory

4. 96-EPC bits, extensible to 480 bits (EPC memory)

5. 512 user bits (user ID memory)

6. 64-bit unique TID (TID memory)

7. 32-bit access and 32-bit kill passwords (reserved memory)

8. Read sensitivity: Up to -18.0 dBm

9. Write sensitivity: up to -13.5 dBm

It has some specialized commands for high-speed programming to encode 30 tags per second for the 96-bit EPC number

Exceptional operating range, up to 10m with an appropriate antenna

2. Alien Higgs 4

The Higgs 4 is a single-chip UHF RFID tag IC that operates from 860 to 960 MHz (UHF frequency). It enhances the Higgs-family performance of its predecessor while being an optimized solution for retail and mass-market adoption of RFID technology. It has enhanced writing sensitivity of -16dBm, so that it can write to multiple tags simultaneously, massively decreasing the cost and time associated with the programming of tags. 

Specifications for Alien Higgs 4:

1. Protocol: EPCglobal Gen2 | ISO/IEC 18000-6C

2. Frequency: 860-960 MHz

3. 448 bits of NVM/RAM

4. Up to 128 EPC bits (96 bits)

5. 128 user bits

6. 64-bit unique TID

7. 32-bit access and 32-bit kill passwords

8. Read sensitivity: Up to -19.0 dBm

9. Write sensitivity: up to -16.0 dBm

10. QuickWrite/BlastWrite: High-speed chip and mass programming

11. Dynamic Authentication: Anti-cloning and Anti-counterfeit Technology

12. Exceptional operating range

3. Alien Higgs EC

The Higgs EC is a single-chip RFID tag IC providing the option of self-correcting memory. It also provides superior read/write sensitivity for all high-volume and general applications in the evolving IoT information base. The chip's memory is protected by the "Sentinel" memory architecture, which is immune from single-bit errors (cosmic rays, chip damage, etc.). So that the stored data is protected and data loss or corruption is minimized. 

Specifications for Alien Higgs EC:

1. Protocol: EPCglobal Gen2 | ISO/IEC 18000-6C

2. Frequency: 860-960 MHz

3. 512 bits of NVM/RAM

4. EPC memory is 128 bits

5. 128 user bits

6. 48-bit unique ID

7. Sentinel memory

8. 32-bit access and 32-bit kill passwords

9. Read sensitivity: Up to -20.0 dBm

10. Write sensitivity: Up to -17.0 dBm

11. QuickWrite/BlastWrite: High-speed chip and mass programming

12. Dynamic Authentication: Anti-cloning and Anti-counterfeit Technology

13. Exceptional operating range: 13m (with suitable antenna)

3. Alien Higgs 9

The Alien Higgs 9 is a high-capacity RFID microchip designed to feature industry-leading data integrity and reliability. It has larger “pads” for improved antenna connectivity than its older variants. It also offers an upgrade in memory reliability (200,000 write cycles) and better memory retention (twice that of the competition). 

Specifications for Alien Higgs 9

1. Protocol: EPCglobal Gen2 | ISO/IEC 18000-6C

2. Frequency: 860-960 MHz

3. 1024-Bits of NVM/RAM Memory

4. Up to 496 EPC bits (EPC Memory capacity)

5. Up to 688 user bits

6. 48-bit unique ID

7. 32-bit access and 32-bit kill passwords

8. Sentinel memory

9. Read sensitivity: Up to -20.0 dBm

10. Write sensitivity: up to -18.0 dBm

11. QuickWrite/BlastWrite: High-speed chip and mass programming

12. Dynamic Authentication: anti-cloning and anti-counterfeit technology

13. Operating range of 13m with an appropriate antenna

4. Alien Higgs 10

It's the newest member of the Higgs family of RFID microchips from Alien Technology. It is a high-performance RFID Tag IC that's designed for applications like high-volume retail, automotive supply chain, and logistics. It has better read and write sensitivity and enhanced Backscatter performance that drives the most challenging of applications of the Internet-of-Things.

Specification for Higgs 10

1.Protocol: EPCglobal Gen2 | ISO/IEC 18000-6C

2. Frequency: 860-960 MHz

3. 480-Bits of NVM/RAM Memory

4. Up to 128 EPC Bits (EPC memory)

5. Up to 32 User Bits (user memory)

6. 48 Bit Unique TID

7. 32 BitAccess and 32 bit Kill Passwords

8. Exceptional operating range, up to 13m

9. Sentinel memory

10. Read sensitivity Up to -21.5 dBm

11. Write sensitivity Up to -19 dBm

12. Best in class memory reliability 200,000 write cycle

13. 96 bit expandable EPC Supports EPC size up to 128b for flexibility

A Comparison between the Alien Higgs Series RFID Chips
 

Difference

Higgs 3

Higgs 4

Higgs EC

Higgs 9

Higgs 10

Type

Large Memory

Mass-market oriented

Self-correcting memory support

Next-generation large memory

Enhanced Backscatter performance

Memory capacity

800 bits

512 bits 

512 bits

1024 bits

480-Bits

EPC Bits capacity

96-480 bits

128 bits           

128 bits          

96-496 bits

96 -128 bits

Unique TID (unalterable serial number)

64 bits

64 bits

48 bits

48 bits

48 bits

Read/Write Sensitivity

 -18.0 dBm/-13.5 dBm

(Very Good)

 -19.0 dBm/-16.0 dBm

(Excellent)

-20.0 dBm/-17.0 dBm

(Best-in-class)

 -20.0 dBm/-18.0 dBm

(Best-in-class)

 -21.5 dBm/-19 dBm

(Currently best-in-class)

Read Distance

10m (30ft)           

11m (33ft)           

13m (42ft)      

13m (42ft)      

 13m (42ft)


In conclusion, Alien Higgs UHF RFID chips stand as pivotal components in the realm of RFID technology. Through this blog, we have provided insight into their features and specifications. UHF RFID chips from Alien Higgs play an increasingly important role in asset tracking, data management, and supply chain optimization and as industries evolve and adopt more RFID based solutions to automate their business operations, the demand for Alien Higgs RFID chips is likely to soar further. Apart from Alien Technology, Impinj Inc., NXP semiconductors, EM, etc are prominent RFID chip manufacturing companies, known for their innovation in RFID UHF IC design and manufacturing.

Disclaimer: The read distance and read and write sensitivity of RFID chips is tested and record under optimal conditions.
 

Disclaimer: The information presented here is for general information purposes only and true to best of our understanding. Users are requested to use any information as per their own understanding and knowledge. Before using any of the information, please refer to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.


  • Created on Jan 08, 2024

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