The
newspaper-style printing of electronic equipment has led to a
cost-effective device that could change the way we interact with
everyday objects.

           

For
a price of just one penny per unit the device, known as a rectenna, published this week in IOP Publishing’s journal Nanotechnology,
can be placed onto objects such as price tags, logos and signage so
that we can read product information on our smartphones with one simple
swipe.

This
type of technology, which is known as near-field communication (NFC),
has already been implemented to allow fast money transactions; however,
this new device could lead the way to large-scale adoption at a low
cost.

The
rectenna, created by researchers from Sunchon National University and
Paru Printed Electronics Research Institute, could be implemented onto
everyday objects so that they can harness the power given off by the
smartphone’s radio waves and send information back to it via printed
digital circuits.

It
is called a rectenna as it is a combination of an antenna and a
rectifier—a device that converts alternating current (AC) into direct
current (DC). The rectenna was printed onto plastic foils in large
batches using a roll-to-roll process at a rate of 8 m min^-1. Five
different electronic inks were used and each rectenna had a length of
around 1300 mm.

The
researchers state that the rectenna can harness power directly from
radio waves given off by a mobile phone, converting AC into DC. The
rectenna created in this study could provide at least 0.3 W of power
from an alternating current which had a frequency of 13.56 MHz.

NFC
technology is very similar to QR codes, whereby users take a photo of a
square-shaped bar code on a poster or advert using their smartphone.
The difference with NFC is that items will contain a small computer chip
or digital information, operated by DC power.

“What
is great about this technique is that we can also print the digital
information onto the rectenna, meaning that everything you need for
wireless communication is in one place,” said co-author of the study
Gyoujin Cho.

“Our
advantage over current technology is lower cost, since we can produce a
roll-to-roll printing process with high throughput in an
environmentally friendly manner. Furthermore, we can integrate many
extra functions without huge extra cost in the printing process.

“The
application of NFC technology with the smartphone will be limitless in
the near future. The medical, automotive, military and aerospace
industries will benefit greatly.”

Source: Institute of Physics