Method and system for deactivation of combination EAS/RFID tags
View Patent ↗A combination Electronic Article Surveillance/Radio Frequency Identification (“EAS/RFID”) tag and method and system for deactivating said combination EAS/RFID tags without the need to physically contact the tag with a deactivation device. The EAS/RFID tag replaces the conventional diode with a non-linear device such as a capacitor with a given breakdown voltage threshold. Inducing a predetermined voltage across the capacitor results in destruction of the capacitor rendering the EAS/RFID tag undetectable in the interrogation systems.
1. A combination electronic article surveillance/radio frequency identification (“EAS/RFID”) device comprising:
a semiconductor device having an EAS circuit and an RFID circuit;
an antenna circuit in electrical communication with the semiconductor device; and
a capacitor, the capacitor including an insulation layer, wherein application of a predetermined voltage to the capacitor results in electrical breakdown of the insulation layer resulting in permanent deactivation of the EAS/RFID device.
2. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 1 , wherein the capacitor is one of a linear capacitor and a non-linear MOS capacitor and is part of the antenna circuit.
3. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 1 , wherein the capacitor is a linear capacitor and is part of the semiconductor device.
4. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 1 , wherein the capacitor is a non-linear MOS capacitor and is part of the semiconductor device.
5. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 4 , wherein application of the predetermined voltage to the MOS capacitor results in destruction of the MOS capacitor, thereby rendering the combination EAS/RFID device undetectable by an EAS interrogation system.
6. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 4 , further comprising a step-up circuit electrically coupled to the MOS capacitor, the step-up circuit increasing the voltage applied to the MOS capacitor.
7. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 6 , wherein the step-up circuit includes a switch that is activated at a predetermined voltage, making the increased voltage available to the MOS capacitor.
8. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined voltage is less than 10 Volts.
9. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor device includes a modulating element.
10. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 9 , wherein the modulating element is a MOSFET.
11. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 10 , wherein the MOSFET has a gate insulation layer that can be broken down upon application of the predetermined voltage.
12. The combination EAS/RFID device of claim 1 , wherein the EAS/RFID device is a mixing tag modulated by a combination of high frequency and low frequency signals.
13. A combination electronic article surveillance/radio frequency identification (“EAS/RFID”) deactivation system comprising:
a combination EAS/RFID tag, the tag comprising:
a semiconductor device having an EAS circuit and an RFID circuit;
an antenna circuit in electrical communication with the semiconductor device; and
a capacitor, the capacitor including an insulation layer, wherein application of a predetermined voltage to the capacitor results in electrical breakdown of the insulation layer resulting in permanent deactivation of the EAS/RFID device; and
a deactivation device adapted to cause application of the predetermined voltage to the capacitor when the combination EAS/RFID tag is placed in non-contact proximity to the deactivation device.
14. The combination EAS/RFID system of claim 13 , wherein the capacitor is part of the antenna circuit.
15. The combination EAS/RFID system of claim 13 , wherein the capacitor is part of the semiconductor device.
16. The combination EAS/RFID system of claim 13 , wherein the capacitor is a MOS capacitor.
17. The combination EAS/RFID system of claim 13 , wherein the predetermined voltage is less than 10 Volts.
18. The combination EAS/RFID system of claim 13 , wherein the semiconductor device includes a modulating element.
19. The combination EAS/RFID system of claim 18 , wherein the modulating element is a MOSFET.
20. A method of deactivating a combination electronic article surveillance/radio frequency identification (“EAS/RFID”) tag without physically contacting the tag, the method comprising:
providing a semiconductor device having an EAS circuit and an RFID circuit;
providing an antenna circuit in electrical communication with the semiconductor device;
providing a capacitor, the capacitor including an insulation layer, and applying a predetermined voltage to the capacitor that results in electrical breakdown of the insulation layer resulting in permanent deactivation of the EAS/RFID device.