Looking for RFID resources

[katzohki]

I've been asked to design somewhat of a tool identification system. So far I've been looking at the HTRC110 from NXP for the reader IC and Atmel for the tags. I got the ATARFID-EK1-ND dev kit from Digikey, but it didn't really teach me much other than how to fiddle with the tags and reprogram them. So I guess that means I've been looking at a 125kHz system.

I'd like to find some tags that are smaller, something along the lines of a sticker that can be placed on the tool, but I've had a hard time matching up the tags that I see with the actual data IC and with what reader IC would be compatible. As for the reader antenna, I'm not really sure where to start. Our tool acceptor can be around 0.5" give or take (pretty variable at the moment) and the tool would fit inside. The flex circuit style looks like it would work well for us. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[D3f1ant]

I would look at Ti TRF7970 13.56Mhz. it was fairly easy to build a reader/writer and the chipset reads all the common protocols. They have reference design board to evaluate and experiment with. You can get standard sticker tags in various sizes for dirt cheap from China.