Radio frequency chips are increasingly becoming a part of our daily lives with new technological advancements coming up every day. In the latest development, scientists have discovered a method to embed Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips into ordinary paper. This can usher in a new era of electronic “smart money” money.
The team of researchers from North Dakota State University, who developed this process, said that this will be a cheap and fast method of manufacturing smart paper as it will require fewer materials. This paper can be used for various purposes such a legal documents, bank notes, tickets etc. The present technology for producing such smart paper is dependent on thicker RFID chips resulting in bulky and uneven paper surfaces, unsuitable for printing purposes. Also, the chips should be durable to sustain long and rough usage through time and make the printing of such paper a feasible option. The latest method seems to be fulfilling all such requirements and as per the interview of Val Marinov, the leader of the project, to BBC this will be twice as fast as the other existing methods.
The team has developed a method called Laser Enabled Advanced Packaging or LEAP, which creates ultra-thin semiconductor chips that can be smoothly embedded into paper. This method uses a plasma etcher to slim down the micro chips and then a laser beam pulse is used to insert the chips along with their antennas, inside the paper. Marinov said that about ten years ago, large banking groups such as the Bank of Japan and The European Bank expressed their interest in developing this technology but have not been able to perfect a process as yet. He claimed that they are the first to develop a perfect process for creating a fully functional RFID chip embedded paper.
Banks and Governments have always encouraged the idea of using RIFD chips to check the authenticity of any paper. This would help to prevent illegal counterfeiting activities and will also help the law enforcement agencies to track the smart money to fight illegal activities by organized crime agencies. Recently, Marinov and his entire team demonstrated their work at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers conference on RFID in Orlando. They are presently looking for the support of commercial investors, as they feel that it is high time for this technology to find its right place in the industry.