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Product category: Communications ICs (Wireless)
News Release from: IMEC | Subject: IMEC passive RFID tag
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 07 February 2008

RFID tags handle barcode jobs

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The new RFID system consists of a low-cost inductive antenna, capacitor, plastic rectifier and plastic circuit, all on foil.

IMEC and TNO have released a plastic 64bit inductively-coupled passive RFID tag operating at 13.56MHz With a 780bit/s data readout of 64 bits over 10cm, the device approaches item-level tagging requirements

The tag generates a five-fold higher bit rate compared to plastic RFID systems.

The achievement paves the way for low-cost high-volume RFID tags to replace barcodes.

The RFID system consists of a low-cost inductive antenna, capacitor, plastic rectifier and plastic circuit, all on foil.

The LC antenna resonates at 13.56MHz and powers up the organic rectifier with an AC voltage at this frequency.

From this voltage, the rectifier generates the DC supply voltage for the 64bit organic transponder chip which drives the modulation transistor between the on and off state with a 64bit code sequence.

The foil with the transponder chip was processed with the organic electronics technology provided by Holst Centre partner Polymer Vision.

Current results build on IMEC's rectifier technology.

Organic vertical diodes have been used in the rectifier since they outperform organic transistors for rectification at frequencies at and above 13.56MHz.

At an RF magnetic field strength of 1.26A/m the rectifier generates an internal transponder supply voltage of 14V.

The organic 64bit transponder chip uses organic bottom-gate p-type Pentacene thin-film transistors from soluble precursor route.

It comprises only some 400 transistors and is thereby significantly smaller than previous designs.

The work was done within the framework of the Holst Centre research program on organic circuitry and was co-funded by the Polyapply project.

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