RFID is radio frequency identification technology. It is a non-contact automatic identification technology. It automatically recognizes objects and obtains relevant data through radio frequency signals. The recognition work can work in various harsh environments without manual intervention. With the gradual maturity of large-scale integrated circuit technology in the 1980s, the size of the RFlD system has been greatly reduced, making the RFlD technology practical. at the same time. The frequent appearance of a variety of RFID tags, which also shows that people on the production of RFlD tag antenna research has entered a new stage. This article will explain various printing solutions for RFlD tag antennas.
RFID tag antenna printing method advantages
At present, RFlD tag antenna has three kinds of production techniques such as etching, coil winding and printing. Compared with the etching method and the coil winding method, the RFlD tag antenna printing method has the following unique advantages.
(1) The metal R FID antenna fabricated by the traditional etching method is not only highly complex and costly, but also has a long production time and the RFID tag antenna printed with the conductive ink is highly efficient. And the low price is very helpful for reducing the manufacturing cost of RFID tags.
(2) Using FOCal method to produce RFID tag antenna can more accurately adjust the main technical parameters of the tag, and use the performance of the tag to the best effect. The main technical parameters of the RFlD tag are: resonant frequency, Q value and impedance. All RFID tag antenna manufacturing methods can use the method of changing the number of antennas, size and wire diameter to obtain the best performance of the tag. However, the RFlD tag antenna printing method can also accurately adjust the local width of the antenna, ink layer thickness and so on.
(3) As RFID tags are increasingly used for personalized applications, more and more RFID tag antenna printing methods can easily change the shape according to requirements, such as sticking to the surface of objects with different curvatures and angles to meet customer requirements without reducing any Use performance.
(4) The RFID tag antenna printing method can be printed on different substrate surfaces according to user requirements, such as PVC, PET-G, PET, ABS, PC and paper-based materials. If coil winding method. It is difficult to produce RFID tags that are adapted to harsh environmental conditions using materials such as PCs.
(5) With the widespread use of RFID tags, more and more IC chip manufacturers have joined the ranks of producing RFID chips. Due to the lack of uniform standards, various performance parameters are also different. The use of printing methods to produce RFID tag antenna has a very strong flexibility. Suitable for chip manufacturers to provide. It can be matched with various types of chips and modules in various packages to achieve the best performance.
RFID tag antenna printing technology
RFID tag antenna printing is a direct way to form an antenna by printing conductive lines on conductive substrates with conductive inks. It is also known as additive manufacturing technology.
1. Conductive ink
In recent years, the development of conductive ink has greatly promoted the application of printing technology in RFID tag antenna production. Conductive ink is a functional ink, mainly carbon paste, silver paste and other types. Carbon paste conductive ink is a kind of thermosetting ink, which has the function of protecting copper foil and conducting current after film curing. Has good conductivity and low impedance. The ink layer of carbon paste conductive ink is not easy to be oxidized, and has the characteristics of stable performance, acid and alkali resistance, strong abrasion resistance, and good thermal shock resistance. The silver paste conductive ink is based on ultrafine silver powder and thermoplastic resin. This kind of liquid ink can be used on PET PT, PVC and other sheet materials with strong adhesion and hiding power for low temperature curing, with conductive controllability and ultra-low resistance value.
It can be said that without the development of conductive inks, there is no application of printing technology in the manufacture of R FlD tags. For the RFlD tag's built-in printed antenna, a good conductive ink formulation requires good printability. The ink layer after printing has the characteristics of strong adhesion, low resistivity, low curing temperature, and stable electrical conductivity.
2. Printing method
At present, the printing methods of RFID tag antennas have expanded from screen printing to offset printing, flexo printing, and gravure printing. The currently more mature production processes are screen printing and gravure printing technologies. Select printing process printing, SIRFlD tag antenna, should be comprehensive consideration from the print size of the substrate surface properties, ink adhesion properties, cost, process and other aspects.
(1) Screen Printing RFID Tag Antenna
Screen printing is the preferred printing method for RFID tag antennas. This is because the nickel foil perforated mesh (not a mesh made of metal or nylon) is more suitable for printing conductive ink and its mesh is hexagonal. It can also be made into a round hole shape by electrolytic forming. The entire net surface is even and thin, which can greatly improve the stability and precision of the imprinting. The printing effect is better, the line interval can reach 0.1mm, and the positioning accuracy can be 0.01mm. Screen printing RFID tag antenna has the following advantages:
1 This is a green technology that allows one-step printing without aggressive materials
2 conductive ink can make the printed antenna more flexible;
3 Lower printing equipment prices
4 Can print on various printing materials, and can print crossover lines.
(2) Rubber-brushed RFID-tag antenna offset printing has the advantages of high efficiency, high precision, and high resolution, but the thickness of offset ink film is small, which does not meet the requirements of antenna printing.
Although this can be accomplished by multiple prints, it poses new challenges for fine line register control.
(3) Flexo printed RFID tag antenna
Flexo printing can use aqueous ink and uV curing ink. Flexographic resolution is usually about 601/cm fine print up to 801/cm, ink film thickness 6 ~ 8 m. More suitable for RFID tag antenna printing requirements. With the development of thin-plate technology, the printing accuracy of flexo printing continues to increase, but due to flexographic printing pressure, the printing plate will be deformed. The imprint appears on the edge of the imprint. Makes the edges of the antenna irregularly imprinted. The accuracy and resistance of the antenna are affected, and waste products are easily generated.
(4) The gravure of the gravure RFID tag antenna gravure can reach 10001/Cm. Ink film thickness is 8 ~ 12um. However, due to the pressure of printing is too great. There are some difficulties in printing RFlD tag antennas.
(5) Inkjet Printing RFID Tags
Inkjet printing is the fastest growing printing method in recent years, and its versatility is unmatched by other printing methods. This pressureless printing method can directly spray digital information from a computer onto any shape of material. Its ink system is more complicated. Water-based uV inks can be used. However, ink jet printing may have deviations in the position of ink jets, and small ink droplets may appear in blank areas, affecting the printing quality and causing edge effects.
Some people call the RFID industry Chaoyang industry. The RFlD label will gradually replace the traditional bar code label, which will have an important impact on packaging and anti-counterfeit printing in the next few years. For the printing industry. In the production of RFID tags, printing technology can be used to produce RFlD tag antennas, which brings new opportunities for printing companies.