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The most common passive RFID tag antenna manufacturing processes

Published byEdith atJune 24,2024

Three most common passive RFID tag antenna manufacturing processes are etched antennas, printed antennas, copper wire coil antennas.

In the process of wireless communication, the RFID tag antenna is an indispensable component, and Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses radio waves to transmit information, and the generation and reception of radio waves need to be realized through the antenna. When the RFID tags enter the working area of the RFID reader/writer antenna, the passive RFID antenna will generate enough induced current to obtain energy to be activated.

For the RFID system, the RFID tag antenna is a vital part, and it is closely related to the performance of the system.

At present, according to the differences in RFID chip antenna wire material, material structure and manufacturing process, RFID tag antennas can be roughly divided into the following categories: etched antennas, printed antennas, wire-wound antennas, additive antennas, ceramic antennas, etc. The most common antenna manufacturing processes are the first three.

Compare the three most commonly used RFID tag antennas
Process Types	Overview	Application	Characteristics
RFID Etched Antennas	Etching often uses copper or aluminum to make RFID antennas, which is close to the etching process of printed circuit boards in the production process.	Mostly used in high frequency RFID systems	High precision, high cost, low capacity.
RFID Printed Antennas	The printed antenna is a circuit in which conductive ink is directly printed on an insulating substrate (or film) to form an antenna circuit.	Generally used in UHF and HF RFID systems.	Low cost, large output, and low durability.
RFID Coil Antennas	Wind the label coil on a winding tool and fix it. Generally, there are more copper wires and more coil turns.	Generally used in low-frequency RFID systems, high-frequency RFID systems can also be used.	High cost and slow production speed.

RFID Etched Antenna (Etched RFID Tag Antenna)

The etching method is also called the imprinting etching method. Firstly, a layer of copper or aluminum with a thickness of about 20mm is covered on a base carrier, and a screen printing plate of the positive image of the antenna is made, and the resist is printed by screen printing. On the surface of copper or aluminum, the copper or aluminum underneath is protected from corrosion, and the rest is melted by the corrosive.

Etched HF RFID Tag Antenna Passive RFID Antenna from RFIDSilicone

But the etching process uses a chemical corrosion reaction, there are problems of long process flow and a lot of waste water, which easily pollutes the environment. Therefore, the industry has been working hard to find better alternatives.

RFID Printed Antenna (Printed RFID Chip Antenna)

HF & UHF RFID Tag Antenna from RFIDSilicone

Directly use special conductive ink or silver paste to print or print the antenna circuit on the substrate. The more mature one is gravure printing or silk screen printing. Screen printing saves costs to a certain extent, but its ink uses about 70% high-silver conductive silver paste to obtain antennas between 15 and 20um, which is a thick film printing method with high cost.

125KHz Copper Coil RFID Antenna from RFIDSilicone

RFID Coil Antennas (Copper Coil RFID Antenna)

The manufacturing process of the copper coil RFID tag antenna is usually completed by an automatic winding machine. The insulating paint is directly wound on the base carrier film, and the copper wire with a low melting point baking varnish is used as the base material of the passive RFID tag antenna. Finally, the wire and the substrate are mechanically fixed with an adhesive, and a certain number of turns are wound according to different frequency requirements.

RFIDSilicone is one of the top and reliable RFID tag manufacturers in Shenzhen China and has its own 7s managed RFID factory.
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