Robustly Operating: Passive Near-Field Communication Systems in Metal Environments

The Internet of Things ( IoT ) refers to a structure that links everyday objects and the Internet. To enable the IoT, a massive deployment of wireless IoT nodes is required; predictions indicate that trillions of these nodes will be needed. This trend raises sustainability issues on environmental, economic, and societal levels. Concerning environmental and economic problems, a significant design challenge is to create wireless IoT nodes that operate at ultralow power to avoid the ecotoxicity of batteries and the prohibitive maintenance costs of battery replacement [1] . Another design challenge is to reach high levels of integration based on low-cost CMOS technologies [2] to limit the carbon footprint and costs associated with the nodes’ production and end of life. Concerning societal issues, a significant design challenge is to guarantee the security and privacy of data in IoT nodes.