Ultra-Thin Energy Harvesting Circuit for RFID Timestamp Logging

Embedded Development Boards, Kits, Programmers
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Hi!

We are looking for a battery-free hardware solution that can generate enough energy upon envelope handling to log a timestamp into an RFID chip’s internal memory. The key requirements are:

No battery – The device should harvest energy when the envelope is moved or handled (piezoelectric, RF, or other energy harvesting methods).

Ultra-thin form factor – Must fit inside an envelope with a maximum thickness of 1 cm.

Energy-efficient – Must generate just enough power to store a timestamp in an RFID chip.

Scalability – We plan to produce +15,000 units, so the solution should be cost-effective for mass production.

Do you know about any existing components or solutions that meet these requirements?

Looking forward to your insights.

Best regards,

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Hello alejo,

Thank you for your post.

This would line up more as a design question. We have a section on our site for design support companies. You can sort by technology and location.

Here is the link to that page :

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Hi Brent! Thanks for our answer.

Is there a way to edit the question of do I have to post a new one?

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alejo,

The Design & Integration Services page is a listing of 3rd party design service providers; you’d need to look at their listings and see which ones you might expect to have expertise/experience in the area you need. With a product catalog of a few million parts, it’s difficult for us at DK to have experience with them all…

That said, there are a number of products in the evaluation board family that might be of interest. Offhand, those offered by Powercast seem like they might be worth your attention.

I would suggest taking some time to very carefully think through the details of your request: it’s very easy to come up with a big-picture idea like “log a time stamp when an envelope is handled” but coming up with a solution will require a person to give answers to questions like “what does ‘handling the envelope’ mean, specifically?”

Also, what drives the battery-free requirement? Eliminating or modifying that constraint might open up a lot of options. One needs only to look at modern cordless mouse whose batteries last for a year or more of daily use to get an idea of what’s possible these days on a slim power budget.