This is rather an extreme miniaturization. Bear in mind that the readers are still way expensive and in most cases operate only when the RFID chip is help right up against the RFID reader. Still its a pretty amazing materials science achievement. Well done Hitachi!

Today Hitachi announced a new “powder” type RFID chip measuring 0.05 x 0.05 mm, which they may begin marketing within 2 to 3 years.

By relying on semiconductor miniaturization technology and using electron beams to write data on the chip substrates, Hitachi was able to create RFID chips 64 times smaller than their currently available 0.4 x 0.4 mm mu-chips. Mu-chips have been used as an anti-counterfeit measure in admission tickets, and the new chips have a 128-bit ROM for storing a unique 38-digit ID number.

These new chips are also 9 times smaller than prototype chips Hitachi unveiled last year measuring 0.15 x 0.15 mm.

At 5 microns thick, the RFID powder can be embedded in paper, like paper currency, gift certificates and identification cards. But since existing tags are already small enough to embed in paper, it leads one to wonder what new applications the developers have in mind.

Via Ministry of Tech who found out about it via Pink Tentacle
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