Fully Printed Flexible Single-Chip RFID Tag with Light Detection Capabilities

Sensors (Basel). 2017 Mar 8;17(3):534. doi: 10.3390/s17030534.

Abstract

A printed passive radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag in the ultra-high frequency band for light and temperature monitoring is presented. The whole tag has been manufactured by printing techniques on a flexible substrate. Antenna and interconnects are realized with silver nanoparticles via inkjet printing. A sprayed photodetector performs the light monitoring, whereas temperature measurement comes from an in-built sensor in the silicon RFID chip. One of the advantages of this system is the digital read-out and transmission of the sensors information on the RFID tag that ensures reliability. Furthermore, the use of printing techniques allows large-scale manufacturing and the direct fabrication of the tag on the desired surface. This work proves for the first time the feasibility of the embedment of large-scale organic photodetectors onto inkjet printed RFID tags. Here, we solve the problem of integration of different manufacturing techniques to develop an optimal final sensor system.

Keywords: OPD; flexible substrate; inkjet printing; organic photodetector; printed electronics; spray deposition.