HID unveils smallest RFID chips

HID Global has built the smallest integrated low-frequency (LF) chips ever produced for contactless ID applications, Enhanced Online News reports.

HID Global has attached an antenna to a chip surface less than 0.3mm^2, which is smaller than the pinpoint of a needle.

According to the company, this area is 50% to 75% smaller than the industry's smallest chips previously used for deployment in LF radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and transponders.

As chip manufacturers embedded computing capacity into smaller-sized chips, RFID engineers have traditionally been restricted by process limitations, Sun Herald states.

In the past, equipment could not handle the tiny chips, nor could effective antennas be mounted to them. Through HID Global's newly developed capabilities, the company says it can utilise the latest micro-sized chips to bring to market more tag options.

A key application in which these chip or antenna combinations have potential is glass tags for animal identification, MRO Magazine says.

Smaller glass tags are less intrusive, especially tags designed for subcutaneous implant. Uncompromised read range performance also reduces trauma to laboratory animals and pets.