Specialist Inks For Radio Frequency Tags

Sun Chemical Corporation's Coates Screen business unit is working closely with QinetiQ, the science and technology company, on the development of radio frequency identification systems (RFID).

Sun Chemical Corporation's Coates Screen business unit is working closely with QinetiQ, the science and technology company, on the development of radio frequency identification systems (RFID).

Low-cost, high volume RFID security and tracking tags, along with a host of other applications where a fine metal pattern is needed moved a step closer with this announcement, as Sun Chemical and QinetiQ will work together to bring QinetiQ's environmentally friendly, patented metal printing process to commercial realisation, claimed the company.

Coates Screen is already established in the specialist inks used to produce credit cards and security documents and it will manufacture bespoke base inks for QinetiQ's patented conductive printing processes.

The QinetiQ process is based on printing a desired pattern on either a flexible or rigid substrate using industry standard printing processes and then 'growing' pure fully densified metal only where required by immersion in chemical baths.

With fewer production stages than current techniques, the process produces negligible waste and is cost effective as it requires less metal, whilst being much more flexible with better environmental credentials, claimed the company.

"The diverse range of applications for QinetiQ's Metal Printing process just grows by the day," explained Christopher Bishop, commercial director of QinetiQ Metal Printing.

"Because of the relatively low production costs and the ease of manufacture, we not only address existing applications but are opening up totally new markets and opportunities almost every week, each of which could have a significant impact on our daily lives," he added.

He said that the process is suitable for a diverse range of applications that includes security tags and labels, smart cards, antenna, frequency selective surfaces or anything that needs a metallic pattern.

Virtually any water-resistant material is suitable as the substrate, such as synthetic paper, polyester, polypropylene, ceramic or ABS plastics.

QinetiQ claims to have already perfected processes for using copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, tin, silver, gold and alloys of these, as single and multiple layers along with the ability to provide connectivity and conductivity between chips and batteries.

"We believe this technology will be widely and rapidly adopted across both new and emerging sectors," explained Andy Parkinson, global marketing manager for Coates Screen.

"We already supply many of the global leaders of security passes and credit cards, so with the growing trend to add more sophisticated technologies onto these media, this was a logical move for us," he explained.

Over the past 18-months QinetiQ has developed its own batch processing facility in Farnborough (U.K) to both prove the process and deliver low-volume, critical-application products said the company.

It said it has also been developing a high-volume production process based on a reel-to-reel system.

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