Cadence simulation environment for contactless near-field communication tags

This paper introduces a model to verify the contactless performance of a transponder front end using a Cadence based simulation environment. The air interface between reader and transponder is thoroughly described and important values and equations are presented. They build the basics for an equivalent electrical model that can be used for simulations using spice simulators. This model is incorporated into the simulation environment and simulated together with a transponder front end designed in a 140 nm CMOS process. The paper gives a rough insight into the functionality of a transponder front end, describes certain scenarios, critical with regards to power consumption, and shows simulation results using the described model.