September 2002

A smart tagging system said to be the thinnest of its kind in the world has been announced by Flying Null, the Cambridge-based developer that has become a leader in magnetic-based tagging for tracking and tracing applications. Its new FN Transfer Tag is only 3 microns thick and a millimetre wide - 25 times thinner than a human hair.

The new tags use the company's existing Electro Magnetic Identification (EMID) technology, which has already been adopted for systems embedded in packaging materials by manufacturers such as the David S Smith papers group.

The company says the new tags are ideal for applications such as product authentication, batch control, warranty control and track and trace, and that the tags can withstand temperatures up to 200 deg C and many atmospheres of pressure. They are also appropriate for recycling, it says; their low metallic content and small size means that they introduce less then 0.3 parts per million into glass when recycled.