Startup Puts RFID in the Spotlight
PharmaSeq has developed RFID transponders powered by light. The ultra-low cost devices could be used against counterfeiting. They can also be coated with special polymers to detect DNA and other molecules.
April 28, 2003 - They say that necessity is the mother invention. One thing most companies need these days is low-cost solutions to their problems. Wlodek Mandecki, a former research and development manager at Abbott Laboratories, saw the need for a inexpensive way to identify DNA and other types of molecules. He not only invented technology that does that; he may also have invented the ultimate way to prevent counterfeiting.
In 1996, Warsaw-born Mandecki founded a company called PharmaSeq to use RFID to help identify mutant genes. The company developed ultra-small, ultra-low cost RFID transponders that are powered by light. When coated with special polymers, they can be used to identify specific genes. Without the coating, the micro-transponders can be used to authenticate goods and protect against counterfeiting. They have a built-in photovoltaic cell, which turns the laser light into energy to power the chip, and an onboard antenna that transmits a unique serial number to a reader.
PharmaSeq chose to power the chip by light for a couple of reason. Using light allows the energy to be directed at the chip so only one transponder at a time is activated. Another benefit is that the laser can get power to the chip efficiently. That means that the micro-transponders can transmit a relatively strong signal, even though the chip size and the antenna on it are very small.
"The big question was how to build a photocell or bond something to the chip," say Jim Sturm, director of microfabrication facility at Princeton University, where PharmaSeq did some early prototyping. "They wanted something that they could get deliverable fast and be low cost, so they went with off-the-shelf CMOS, and it works."
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) processes are used to create memory chips and microprocessors. Since PharmaSeq uses the same technology to create the photocell and antenna on the chip, it didn't have to develop new infrastructure or processes, which reduces both development costs and production costs.
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| PharmaSeq's Mandecki |
In 1996, Warsaw-born Mandecki founded a company called PharmaSeq to use RFID to help identify mutant genes. The company developed ultra-small, ultra-low cost RFID transponders that are powered by light. When coated with special polymers, they can be used to identify specific genes. Without the coating, the micro-transponders can be used to authenticate goods and protect against counterfeiting. They have a built-in photovoltaic cell, which turns the laser light into energy to power the chip, and an onboard antenna that transmits a unique serial number to a reader.
PharmaSeq chose to power the chip by light for a couple of reason. Using light allows the energy to be directed at the chip so only one transponder at a time is activated. Another benefit is that the laser can get power to the chip efficiently. That means that the micro-transponders can transmit a relatively strong signal, even though the chip size and the antenna on it are very small.
"The big question was how to build a photocell or bond something to the chip," say Jim Sturm, director of microfabrication facility at Princeton University, where PharmaSeq did some early prototyping. "They wanted something that they could get deliverable fast and be low cost, so they went with off-the-shelf CMOS, and it works."
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) processes are used to create memory chips and microprocessors. Since PharmaSeq uses the same technology to create the photocell and antenna on the chip, it didn't have to develop new infrastructure or processes, which reduces both development costs and production costs.
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