A New Approach to Low-Cost RFID Tags
Peter Singer, Editor-in-Chief -- Semiconductor International, 2/1/2005
The semiconductor industry has new competition: the paper industry. A new agreement that aims to develop the first organic radio frequency identification (RFID) tags was recently struck between International Paper, the world's largest paper and forest products company, and OrganicID, a developer of low-cost printable RFID tags. The goal of the partnership is to bring the approximate cost per tag down 1 cent.
Low-cost RFID tags are expected to become increasingly common as a means of identifying every type of consumer product. Already, Wal-Mart has demanded that all of its suppliers label products with RFID tags, and some supermarkets are experimenting with carts that can read RFID tags.
OrganicID is developing the first printable RFID tags from organic (plastics) materials. Today, RFID tags are produced from silicon, which require costly manufacturing techniques, bringing the average cost of a tag to 25-45 cents. With silicon, a tag that costs less than 5 cents is almost impossible to deliver, according to the company.
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| A prototype of the OrganicID RFID tags. The goal is to produce tags for less than 1 cent. (Source: OrganicID) |
"We are busting the myth that RFID tags cannot cost less than 5 cents, and we are hopeful that we can go even further and produce a tag for around 1 cent," said Klaus Dimmler, co-founder, president and CEO of OrganicID. "Working with companies like International Paper takes us one step closer to developing a tag that will one day be incorporated into packages much more easily and efficiently than silicon tags, and will open the door for cost-efficient item-level tracking."
OrganicID is developing its organic RFID tags through a unique method of depositing and patterning multiple layers of electronic inks and other organic materials onto a flexible substrate. Through its proprietary circuit designs and process innovations, OrganicID is able to manufacture a fully standardized, printable RFID tag, and is the first company to demonstrate that transmission at 13.56 MHz is possible with organic transistors.
For additional information on emerging technologies, go to www.semiconductor.net/emerging
