The following are news announcements made during the past week.
Smartrac Announces High-Memory NFC Tag
Smartrac, an RFID inlay supplier headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has announced the availability of its new Midas Near Field Communication (NFC) passive 13.MHz tag. Based on NXP Semiconductors‘ NTAG203 chip, the Midas NFC tag is especially suitable for linking small objects with cloud services, the company reports. Due to its small footprint—the antenna measures 10 by 17 millimeters (0.39 by 0.67 inch), and the die-cut size is 12 by 19 millimeters (0.47 by 0.75 inch)—the tag can be easily attached to electronics and various accessories, thereby allowing for the unique identification of an object, while simultaneously granting access to a broad range of services and options residing in the cloud. The Midas NFC tag is also suited for applications in which inlays are embedded with limited space available for housing, Smartrac indicates, such as electronics pairing, NFC-Bluetooth pairing, brand authentication, toy figures and key fobs. The tag features 144 bytes of memory, and is compliant with the NFC Forum‘s Tag Type 2 specification. The Midas tag has been cross-tested and qualified by several major NFC smartphone brands, according to Smartrac, and is immediately available in limited quantities for sampling. Volume deliveries are slated to begin at the end of June 2012.
ABI Research Foresees Healthy Growth in RFID Market
The market for RFID transponders, readers, software and services will generate $70.5 billion from 2012 until the end of 2017, according to market research and analysis firm ABI Research. The market grew by $900 million last year, and ABI Research expects it to increase by $1.1 billion during 2012, to $7.62 billion. This represents a year-over-year growth of 17 percent, according to ABI Research group director John Devlinches. The research, conducted as part of the firm’s new study, “RFID Market by Application and Vertical Sector,” identifies that three market sectors—government, retail, and transportation and logistics—will account for 60 percent of future revenues. In 2017, Devlinches says, the largest single vertical market will be retail, which will account for more than 20 percent of that year’s expenditures on radio frequency identification. According to ABI Research, retail growth is driven by the proven returns that-item level tagging can deliver. For example, the study notes, in RFID-enabled stores, goods are less likely to become lost, sales floors are better-stocked and the ordering process becomes smarter. RFID will cross over into customer-facing services with Near Field Communication (NFC) tags for product information and smart marketing. This year, the regional analysis shows that Asia, Europe and North America each account for approximately 30 percent of market value. Over the next five years, Devlin says, this will change slightly, with North America growing faster than the market average, Asia growing about the same, and Europe running slightly below average. Asia will remain the largest region throughout, he says. “Interestingly, despite remaining much smaller, the emerging markets in Latin America will grow at the fastest rate,” Devlin states. “In part, this will be driven by implementations relating to trade (fresh produce, food, etc.), manufacturing, but also implementations driven by non-domestic multi-national companies adopting RFID throughout their global operations.” The ABI Research study further finds that high-frequency (HF) RFID continues to account for the largest proportion of market value, including NFC. The overall largest growth in market value of any frequency is that of ultrahigh-frequency (UHF)—in particular, passive UHF. Devlin notes, however, that while NFC-related uses (especially tags) are forecast to have the fastest growth rate of any market sector, this is largely due to the fact that it is starting from a very small base. “It will take time,” he says, “but I expect that NFC will become more significant beyond the timeframe that we are currently forecasting.” The new study, which provides a comprehensive overview and summary of the impact that the latest product launches, new entrants and changing market dynamics will have on the market’s future direction and evolution, is part of the firm’s RFID Research Service.
MTI Wireless Edge Announces New RFID Reader Antenna
MTI Wireless Edge, a provider of flat-panel antennas for fixed RFID readers, has announced a new flat-panel RFID reader antenna that operates in the 865 to 928 MHz band. Designed for systems integrators and developers, the new antenna, known as the MT-241033/S, can read close-proximity tags, and offers a range of just a few centimeters when used with near-field tags, and a few tens of centimeters when utilized with far-field tags. It has a strong magnetic near field and weak far field for short reading distances, the firm reports. The reader antenna, which has a plastic radome and a base plate made of aluminum with chemical conversion coating, measures 166 by 74 by 31 millimeters (6.5 by 2.9 by 1.2 inches) and weighs 200 grams (7.1 ounces), which the company says makes it suitable for item-level applications, ticketing, desktop tagging, access control, documents tracking and applications in which a confined reading area is desired. Unveiled at the RFID Journal LIVE! 2012 conference and exhibition, held earlier this month in Orlando, Fla., the reader antenna is available now.CISC Unveils Portable UHF Tag Test System
CISC Semiconductor, an Austrian design and consulting service company for industries that develop embedded microelectronic systems, has announced a new ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tag-performance test system. The RFID Xplorer is a portable, compact solution specifically designed as a cost-effective, small and powerful measurement system for RFID tag sensitivity, communication range and backscatter measurements, according to the company. The unit, which measures 160 by 205 by 50 millimeters (6.3 by 8.1 by 2 inches) in size and weighs 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds), can be dismantled and set up in minutes, and operates within a frequency range of 800 MHz to 1 GHz. Measurement speed below 1 second per frequency is achieved, CISC reports, using an appropriate computer running the Xplorer measurement software. It is designed to provide results regarding a tag’s key characteristics, and can easily be applied for tag frequency sensitivity, communication range and backscatter measurements. According to CISC, the device is available in an economical version for tests conducted within an open area, and as a high-precision solution for measurements performed within an RF-controlled environment using a portable RF test chamber. The system is supplied with software and a reference tag for self-calibration.
NewPage Unwraps New Paper-based RFID Label Substrate that Supports Thermal Transfer
NewPage Corp., a producer of printing and specialty papers, has announced its new PointTrac TT substrate, a patented, paper-based substrate for printed RFID labels. PointTrac TT offers RFID label manufacturers the ability to combine thermal transfer printed variable analog information with advanced RFID chip technology. This technology facilitates the low-cost production of printed paper RFID labels when compared with traditional multi-layer plastic film substrates, the company reports. “The common current process for producing smart tags and labels is to print the RFID antenna on plastic film—usually PET—insert the RFID chip, then adhere the plastic tags into the roll of pressure-sensitive label laminate,” explains Jim Sheibley, NewPage’s director of specialty business and product development. “That requires three layers instead of two, and requires that plastic be used along with sustainable fiber label material. We designed a paper that can avoid the plastic antenna base, print the antenna and insert the chip directly onto the paper label, reducing complexity and cost in the production of smart labels. The same label is printable with thermal transfer printing in an RFID-enabled printer.” PointTrac TT, Sheibley notes, is the only paper-based substrate that can accept a metallic printed antenna on the back side of a label, and also print variable info on the front side, using thermal transfer printing. The design features that allow holdout of metallic antenna ink—combined with stability and controlled expansion of the paper base—assure that the chip remains in place, and that the antenna is robust enough to function at the temperature and humidity levels in which labels must perform.
Delo Intros Die-Attach Adhesives for Smart-Card Market
Delo Industrial Adhesives a specialist supplier of fast-curing encapsulants and adhesives, has announced a new die-attach adhesive specifically designed for IC modules in the smart-card industry. The Delomonopox DA587 adhesive—part of the company’s Delomonopox product family—is a white-colored adhesive made of modified epoxy resin, designed for the bonding of bare semiconductors to epoxy tapes for smart-card technology, and also to metal lead frames and rigid and flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs). The adhesive is suitable for use in connection with the company’s Delo-Katiobond UV-curing chip encapsulation compounds, but can also be combined with other chip-encapsulation bonds. Its ability to be cured quickly at low temperatures makes it particularly suitable for temperature-sensitive substrates, Delo reports, such as those utilized for smart-card technologies. When used for bonding and encapsulating chips in smart-card modules, adhesives face great challenges, the company notes, and thus it must mechanically safeguard the chips and the contacting area from pressure, bending and torsion. In addition, protection from physical influences and environmental conditions, such as humidity, cold or heat, is essential. The new adhesive can fulfill these requirements, the company claims. The adhesive is supplied ready for use, and is available unfilled (for non-conductive products) or filled (for grounding or conductive products).