| The Electronic Passport Forum in
Berlin was the first opportunity for Brite iD to exhibit its
iLam™ RFID inlays for e-passports
to passport authorities and security printers. Brite iD has
developed an entirely new method of manufacturing highly durable
inlays containing RFID chips and antennas for use in electronic
passports, visas and identity cards.
The company was showing examples of its
iLam™ laminates for use where the RFID chips
are placed in passport covers, security paper and polycarbonate
data pages. The laminates consist of a central core of a polyester
based elastomer material containing the chip and antenna,
and two outer layers of passport cover material, security
paper or polycarbonate as appropriate. The elastomer core
surrounds the RFID chip and provides excellent protection
against the bending and impact forces that a passport experiences
in daily use.
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Although very few electronic passports
have yet been produced, many countries are planning to put
the RFID chip in the passport cover. Unlike most other systems,
where the inlay is supplied as a separate component that has
to be glued into the passport at the manufacturing plant,
the iLam™ inlay is supplied
complete with the passport cover and no modifications to the
production line or changes to assembly methods are required.
This feature is proving particularly attractive to passport
printers.
The other iLam™ data page
inlays are also creating great interest. The security paper
version is very different from any other product being offered,
allowing the printer to incorporate the chip within the paper
data page inside the passport, which could provide better
protection to the chip against external forces than when placed
in the cover. The polycarbonate data page, because of the
elastomer core, is more flexible, less brittle and easier
to incorporate in the passport book than standard polycarbonate
pages.
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