A quick reference to the terms that come up when specifying RFID and NFC products. For deeper dives, see our guides and frequency comparison.

RFID
Radio-Frequency Identification — using radio waves to identify tagged objects without contact or line of sight.
NFC
Near Field Communication — a short-range (≈4 cm) subset of 13.56 MHz HF RFID built for two-way smartphone interaction.
LF
Low Frequency RFID (125–134 kHz) — short range, good near metal and water; used for animal ID and access.
HF
High Frequency RFID (13.56 MHz) — the "tap" band for cards, tickets, libraries and NFC.
UHF
Ultra-High Frequency RFID (860–960 MHz) — long range and bulk reading for retail and logistics.
Inlay
The antenna and chip on a thin substrate that forms the working core of a smart label or card.
Dry inlay
An inlay with no adhesive, intended for laminating or embedding into a product.
Wet inlay
An inlay with pressure-sensitive adhesive, ready to peel and stick onto an item.
Antenna
The conductive coil or trace that couples with the reader field to power the chip and exchange data.
Chip / IC
The integrated circuit that stores the ID and data and handles communication and security.
NDEF
NFC Data Exchange Format — the standard record format (e.g. a URL or vCard) stored on NFC tags.
NTAG
A family of NXP NFC chips (213/215/216) widely used for phone tap, marketing and authentication.
MIFARE
A family of NXP 13.56 MHz chips (Classic, Ultralight, DESFire) for access, transit and payment.
DESFire
A secure MIFARE chip with AES encryption used for payment, transit and high-security ID.
EPC Gen2
The dominant UHF RFID air-interface standard (ISO 18000-6C) used in retail and supply chain.
Read range
The distance at which a reader can reliably communicate with a tag — from cm (LF/HF) to metres (UHF).
Anti-collision
A protocol that lets a reader identify many tags in its field without their signals clashing.
Anti-metal tag
A tag designed with a ferrite or spacer layer so it reads reliably when mounted on metal.
On-metal
Describes tags or designs that function when attached to metal surfaces.
Encoding
Writing data (an ID, URL or keys) onto a chip, often with personalization, before delivery.
Personalization
Adding unique data to each card/tag — numbering, barcode, photo or chip encoding.
CR80
The standard credit-card size (85.6 × 54 mm) used for most ID and smart cards.
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride — the economical, easy-to-print standard material for cards.
PETG
A durable, more recyclable card material, stronger than PVC.
Polycarbonate (PC)
A very durable, laser-engravable card material used for high-security ID.
BIO card
A biodegradable or bio-based card material that reduces plastic waste.
FSC
Forest Stewardship Council certification — traceable, responsibly sourced wood and paper.
Tamper-evident
A material or design that visibly destroys or marks itself if removal is attempted.
Passive tag
A tag with no battery, powered entirely by the reader’s field (most RFID tags).
Active tag
A battery-powered tag with long range, used for real-time location and high-value assets.
Reader / interrogator
The device that powers tags and reads/writes their data over an antenna.
SDK
Software Development Kit — code and tools to integrate a reader with your application.
OEM / ODM
Original Equipment / Design Manufacturing — building products to a customer’s brand or design.
MOQ
Minimum Order Quantity — the smallest batch a manufacturer will produce for an order.
ISO 14443
The standard for proximity (tap) HF smart cards such as MIFARE.
ISO 15693
The standard for vicinity HF cards/labels (longer HF range), used in libraries.
ISO 11784/85
The standards for LF animal identification (FDX-B).
ISO 18092
The NFC standard that defines peer-to-peer communication between devices such as two phones.
RAIN RFID
The industry term for passive UHF RFID based on the EPC Gen2 / ISO 18000-6C standard.
EPC
Electronic Product Code — the unique identifier stored on a UHF tag to distinguish each item.
TID
Tag Identifier — a permanent, factory-locked serial in a UHF chip, useful for authentication.
UCODE
A family of NXP UHF chips (e.g. UCODE 8/9) widely used in retail and logistics labels.
ICODE
A family of NXP HF (ISO 15693) chips used for library, retail and healthcare item tagging.
Impinj
A leading maker of UHF RFID chips (Monza / M-series) and reader silicon.
EAS
Electronic Article Surveillance — anti-theft tags that trigger an alarm at store exits.
EMV
The global standard for chip bank cards, including secure contactless (tap) payment.
Magnetic stripe
A magnetic band on a card storing data read by swiping; often combined with a chip.
Proximity card
A contactless card (125 kHz or 13.56 MHz) read at short range for access control.
Transponder
Another name for an RFID tag — it "responds" to a reader’s interrogation signal.
Lamination
Bonding card layers under heat and pressure into a durable, sealed card body.
Hot stamping
Applying metallic foil or holograms to a card surface for security or premium styling.
Dual-frequency
A card or tag combining two chips/bands (e.g. LF+HF or HF+UHF) to work across systems.
Duty cycle
How often a reader transmits; with read rate it governs how many tags are processed per second.