Abstract
Abstract. UHF RFID tags are nowadays widely and successfully implemented in many distinct applications, but unfortunately the traditional production process and incorrect disposal of such devices have a negative impact on the environment. In this work silver and gold nanoparticle inks were printed by a consumer inkjet printer on eco-friendly substrates like paper and PET in order to make the manufacturing process less harmful to the ecosystem. A dipole antenna with matching loop was designed for the RFID chip EM4325 from EM Microelectronics, which has an integrated temperature sensor, at the frequency of 866 MHz. Based on this design, simulations of the greener tags are presented and compared as a proof of concept, without optimizing the designs at first for the different materials. The printings with silver (unlike the gold) were conductive with self-sintering. IPL sintering was conducted to reduce the sheet resistance from the silver ink and to turn the gold ink conductive. First S11 parameter and read distance measurements are shown as well as the simulations with the optimized antenna designs.
Highlights
Sustainability has become a development priority of modern industrial nations over the past years, going even so far, that information and communication technologies are traditionally viewed to have a negative impact on the environment
Most Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are housed in plastic or other petrochemical based materials
New printing techniques like Inkjet printing are being used as a greener solution
Summary
Sustainability has become a development priority of modern industrial nations over the past years, going even so far, that information and communication technologies are traditionally viewed to have a negative impact on the environment. Most RFID tags are housed in plastic or other petrochemical based materials To combat this situation, some solutions can make the process less harmful to the environment, such as the use of paper as substrate, a material which is considered one of the best dielectrics for cheap and renewable microwave applications and it is environmentally friendly and compostable. While traditional methods to produce conductive patterns involve lithography, a multi-step subtractive process that is incompatible to roll-to-roll production, requires clean room facilities and produces chemical waste, additive printing methods like Inkjet Printing, promise high throughput, low-cost and improved environmental-friendliness For this printing method, metallic inks containing gold, silver, copper and other metals, offer a much higher conductivity than polymer-based inks. The combination of those solutions can provide greener devices in order to reduce the impact of the traditional manufacturing
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