March 31, 2020

Rapid response to Retails needs: Miniweb products based on new Impinj ICs

Supply Chain and Inventory Management have always been among the most important RFID retail application areas worldwide – and need to be done as fast and efficient as possible. New Miniweb RAIN RFID inlays and tags make it happen.

Back in December 2019, Smartrac’s long-time technology partner Impinj released the first two products in its Impinj M700 RAIN UHF RFID series of ICs that excel through their diminutive footprint (half the size of other UHF RFID chips), enhanced sensitivity, and greater bandwidth.

Both new ICs, known as the M730 and M750, along with future M700 series products, feature a functionality known as "protected mode" so that they can be rendered invisible for security and privacy purposes, and then be turned back on by authorized users. That specific combination of properties makes the new ICs a top choice for retailers and branded products manufacturers, when they are integrated into inlays and tags that leverage their capabilities to the max.

Fast commercialization, superior quality
Smartrac launched its new Miniweb inlays and tags based on the new Impinj M700 IC family just one day after Impinj officially released their ICs, proving again its ability to rapidly commercialize innovative technologies, and to supply the retail and logistics industries with high-quality inlays and tags that combine small size with maximum global performance. Operating in the European, North American and Asian markets, Smartrac’s new Miniweb inlays and tags fully leverage the new ICs’ increased sensitivity in an antenna design that combines a compact 42mm / 1.7in form factor with ARC-confirmed global performance and reliability.

“In a close collaborative effort with Impinj and our state-of-the-art RFID development centers we have managed to industrialize the new Impinj M730 and M750 ICs, adapt our manufacturing processes and incorporate new technologies in our successful Miniweb inlay design in a very short timeframe. This all underlines our innovation and technology leadership, and further strengthens the ties with our long-term supplier and strategic market partner, Impinj,” — Dr. Juha Virtanen, Vice President Research & Development at Smartrac.

New performance levels in Retail and Supply-Chain applications
Designed especially for retail and supply-chain applications, Miniweb particularly benefits from the outstandingly high performance and resulting fast inventory capabilities of the Impinj M730 and M750 ICs. With its small form factor, the Impinj M700-powered Miniweb delivers on the promise of small, universal RAIN RFID inlays and tags that can be attached to, or embedded in, in nearly any item in any operating frequency worldwide.

Smartrac’s new Miniweb inlays and tags are available with Impinj M730 and M750 ICs. The Impinj M730 has 128-bit EPC memory and the Impinj M750 IC has 96-bit EPC memory plus 32-bit user memory. Both new Impinj ICs provide increased sensitivity, improved readability, and advanced features offering new solutions for loss prevention, with frictionless self-checkout and embedded tagging enabling seamless product returns. Both ICs are compatible with the GS1 UHF Gen2v2 protocol which ISO/IEC standardized as 18000-63.

New manufacturing processes for higher throughput and improved sustainability
Smartrac has adopted new manufacturing processes using state-of-the-art IC attachment technologies and equipment to fully leverage Impinj’s 300mm wafer design, which yields twice as many ICs per wafer as conventional 300mm wafers. By applying leading-edge IC attachment technologies that use fast-cure sealing silicone (ACP), Smartrac can rapidly and significantly expand its RFID inlay and tag manufacturing capacity and operating throughput to provide very fast product availability. At the same time, the company minimizes the use of resources with an inherently positive effect on sustainability, and ensures the superior product quality for which it is widely known.

“In a close collaborative effort with Impinj and our state-of-the-art RFID development centers we have managed to industrialize the new Impinj M730 and M750 ICs, adapt our manufacturing processes and incorporate new technologies in our successful Miniweb inlay design in a very short timeframe. This all underlines our innovation and technology leadership, and further strengthens the ties with our long-term supplier and strategic market partner, Impinj,” said Dr. Juha Virtanen, Vice President Research & Development at Smartrac.

Miniweb inlays and tags equipped with Impinj M730 and M750 ICs are available in sample quantities as of now, and in high volumes in early Q2 2020.

For further information, please contact our Sales & Customer Service Team.

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