Originally published July 6 2004
Magic ink grows metal into tiny circuits; RFID tags can be produced on the cheap
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new breakthrough overturns conventional circuit etching techniques and allows tiny circuits to be created by simply painting a surface with a unique ink solution that causes metal molecules to adhere and build themselves into a cohesive lattice. In plain English, it means that RFID tags and other small circuitry could be mass produced at a fraction of the cost required today. As a bonus, the process uses non-toxic chemicals (meaning workers are safer) and doesn't create an environmental hazard due to waste products. Expect to see this technology emerge as a winner when RFID tags go mainstream.
The metal printing technique replaces conventional copper etching by using a special ink which attracts metals.
RFID tags are tiny microchips that talk to each other and experts predict they will be big business by 2006.
"The very basic principle is that you apply an ink to a surface that is water resistant, like a flexible plastic," Chris Bishop, general manager of QinetiQ Metal Printing (QMP), explained to BBC News Online.
After the ink is printed on to a flexible or rigid surface, the surface is lowed into a tank which contains the electroless solution.
The technology was developed by QinetiQ, formerly Dera (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency), because it needed to make sheets of frequency selective surfaces (FSS) for radar applications.
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