Surface Topography Contribution To RFID Tag Efficiency Related To Conductivity, 2007 Coating & Graphic Arts Conference

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A Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) is a new technology oriented to the distribution and storage industries. RFID technology is used to identify, track and store information about groups of products, individual items, or products components using radio waves. An RFID device needs an antenna in order to receive a signal and transmit information. The conductivity of the ink directly controls the read range of the RFID tag. The stamping process applied today to produce the RFID antenna works with foil or copper. These etched metal RFID tags offer good read ranges, but the present cost is too high to achieve widespread implementation. However, with the use of conductive ink to print RFID tags, it is expected that production costs will be lower, enabling the broader scale application of this technology. To obtain a suitable implementation of conductive inks in RFID technology, it is important to understand the ink/substrate interactions. For this work, the influence of SBS coated board topography on ink conductivity was studied. The surface topography was altered by using two different coating application methods to apply a coating at different coat weights, then calendering the coated samples at different calendering pressures. A conductive ink was then applied and the resistivity of the ink measured. The results showed the resistivity to be strongly influenced by surface topography.