New Ultra-Thin Flexible RFID Tag Developed

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New Ultra-Thin Flexible RFID Tag Developed

September 25, 2007

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (SEL) and TDK Corporation announced today that they have developed technology for an RFID tag integrated circuit (operating in the UHF band and at 13.56 MHz) mounted on a flexible substrate. This technology employs high-performance thin-film transistor technology to integrate an RFID integrated circuit with a flexible substrate.

In recent years, society has been moving toward ubiquitous computing and RFID systems have become more common. RFID is a technology that uses radio waves to send and receive data without contact. RFID is expected to produce significant results in areas such as streamlining and speeding up manufacturing processes.

There are various problems with LSI chips manufactured from conventional silicon wafers including an inability to withstand physical stress such as bending as well as the thickness of LSI chips. SEL and TDK have operated the world's first^* RFID integrated circuit for the UHF band formed on a flexible substrate. They have also developed an RFID integrated circuit that operates at 13.56 MHz. The new technology produces an extremely thin, flexible substrate that can be formed as thin inlets just 30 µm thick.

The new technology can create inlets that are so thin the unevenness cannot be felt even when they are embedded in thin, high-quality paper that is 100 µm thick. By incorporating RFID functions into a flexible substrate, products are highly resistant to bending.

The new RFID will be on display at the CEATEC JAPAN 2007 exhibition to be held at Makuhari Messe from October 2 to 6.

• * As of September 2007, according to SEL investigations

Glossary

• RFID:
  A technology for sending and receiving information wirelessly using magnetic fields and radio waves. The radio frequencies used include 13.56 MHz and the UHF band.
• Thin-film transistor:
  A thin film type transistor (semiconductor element) formed from amorphous or polycrystalline silicon on an insulator, for example a glass substrate.
• Inlet:
  A package unit consisting of an RFID integrated circuit with an antenna.

Overview of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.

Address:	398 Hase, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa
Date of establishment:	July 1, 1980
Capital:	4.348 billion yen
President:	Shunpei Yamazaki
Business activities	Research and development, acquisition of patents, and exercise of intellectual property rights concerning crystalline thin-film integrated circuits, liquid crystal displays and EL displays, and conductor thin-film transistors.

For further information, contact the Corporate Communications Dept.
Tel.: 81-3-6778-1055
E-mail: TDK.PR@tdk.com