RFID Journal Staff asked 8 years ago I am using a passive 13.56 MHz RFID reader, and I seek a high-frequency tag with dimensions not exceeding 5 millimeters by 5 millimeters (0.2 inch by 0.2 inch). Is such a tag available on the market? Also, are there smartphone interface readers for this kind of tag?
—Name withheld
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Murata Manufacturing Co. makes what I believe is the smallest passive HF tag on the market. The model LXMS33HCNG-134 tag measures 3.2 millimeters (0.13 inch) in width and length and 0.7 millimeter (0.03 inch) in thickness (see Murata Mass-Produces 'World's Smallest HF Tag'). This tag is based on the ISO 15693 air-interface protocol standard. Older types of Near Field Communication (NFC) readers would not be able to read this tag. However, readers in newer phones that support the latest version of the NFC air-interface protocol can interrogate ISO 15693 tags.
We published a story in 2012 about a company called Tereac that announced plans to produce its TereTag (see Terepac Announces Tiny NFC RFID Tags, Made Via New Assembly Process). I do not see any information about this tag on the company's website, so I do not know if it ever actually produced the tag. A search of the Web turns up nothing beyond Tereac's 2012 announcement, but you can call the company and ask if they ever produced it (please let me know what you find out).
There are passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags on the market that are smaller. Hitachi Chemical is marketing an EPC Gen 2 passive UHF RFID tag that is one of the smallest tags on the market, measuring just 2.5 millimeters (0.098 inch) square and 0.3 millimeter (0.012 inch) thick. Consisting of an Impinj Monza 5 chip and an antenna embedded in epoxy resin, the Ultra-Small Package tag is designed to be durable enough that it could be applied via injection molding or incorporated into printed circuit boards (see Hitachi Chemical Markets Tiny UHF Tag).
If any of our readers know of any other tiny passive HF tags, they are invited to post information below.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
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