Next generation antennas
By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/19/2005
Gen 2 is the next generation for RFID tag specifications. But behind the scenes, the components that make up those tags are also evolving. Manufacturers and materials suppliers are experimenting with new materials and new ways to produce the building blocks of an RFID tag that might lead to cheaper and more effective tags, regardless of the standards.
While some ideas are still in the lab, others are commercially available now.
One of these new ideas that may be in the marketplace soon involves the use of conductive inks to “print” the RFID antennas that receive and transmit radio signals.
Today, the antennas that go into RFID tags are twisted or etched into a pattern using strands of copper, aluminum, or another conductive metal. But some companies are experimenting with printing the pattern for the antennas with ink made with conductive metals, especially silver.
The printing wouldn’t take place at an end user’s factory or distribution center. Rather, the antennas would be printed upstream during the conversion process, when RFID chips are married with antennas and label stock.
“The advantage is that you can use existing print infrastructures to print the antennas,” says Dan Lawrence, director of technology and commercialization with Precisia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Flint Ink. (734-205-6651). “That allows you to have a very flexible and economical manufacturing process.”
Customization is one potential benefit advantage to using conductive inks. For instance, one of the challenges of using RFID today is the variety of products being shipped. Standard antenna designs work well with some products, but not others. “Printing the antennas might allow you to easily customize the antenna design to work with a particular product,” Lawrence says.
While no one is presently producing a printed antenna, Lawrence says the technology is commercially available today and trials are underway.
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