Thinfilm presents first printed NFC-enabled smart label

 

The Norwegian Thin Film Electronics ASA (Thinfilm) recently announced that it has successfully demonstrated the industry’s first integrated-system product to combine printed electronics technology, real-time sensing capability, and near-field communication (NFC) functionality.

A video of the demonstration, which shows the wireless capture of threshold excursion data from a temperature-sensing smart label, was presented by Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm, at LOPEC, (26-28 May 2014 in Munich). The company also conducted live demos at its booth during the exhibition.

“This successful demonstration represents a critical milestone in in our RF (radio frequency) roadmap and comes just four months after acquiring Kovio, Inc.’s PDPS (printed-­dopant polysilicon) technology,” says Sutija. “Our engineering team has made truly impressive progress in a relatively short amount of time and we’re very excited about the many commercial applications for this compelling product.”

Thinfilm’s PDPS technology is based on a hybrid manufacturing process that leverages print methods in key process steps. The technology is said to enable high-performance transistors that support the high frequency RF circuitry required for NFC communications in labels. Furthermore, the PDPS platform allows engineers to significantly compress the cycle time for new designs, enabling faster time-to-market for new sensing elements as they are developed. The company states that it has now demonstrated all components necessary to produce its first NFC-enabled integrated-system product and expects to deliver commercial samples of the smart label to key partners in 2015.