1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag which exchanges information with an external device in a non-contact manner, and an RFID tag production method that produces that kind of RFID tag. Note that this “RFID tag” may also be referred to as a “wireless IC tag”.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of RFID tags that exchange information with an external device, typically represented by a reader/writer, in a non-contact manner using radio waves have been proposed in recent years (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-311176, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-200332, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-351082). An RFID tag in which a circuit chip and a radio wave communication antenna pattern are mounted on a base sheet made of plastic or paper has been proposed as one type of such RFID tag. This type of RFID tag is designed to be used in a mode in which the RFID tag is attached to an article and identification of the article and the like can be performed by exchanging information relating to that article with an external device.
As one example of a method of attaching this kind of RFID tag, a method may be mentioned that uses an adhesive sheet that has adhesive applied on either the front or rear surface. According to this method, an RFID tag is attached to an article by affixing this adhesive sheet to the surface of the article in a manner that sandwiches the RFID tag between the surface of the article and the surface (adhesive surface) on which the adhesive was applied.
The usage modes for RFID tags include a mode in which an RFID tag is attached to article that changes shape easily, such as clothing, and the above described attachment method using an adhesive sheet is sometimes employed as a method of attaching an RFID tag to this kind of article. However, in an attachment method that uses an adhesive sheet, the RFID tag is rigidly fixed to the article and, as a result, changes in the shape of the article are transmitted as they are to the RFID tag. An RFID tag has sections that are structurally vulnerable to tensile stress, such as a connection part between an antenna and a circuit chip, and when a tensile stress is produced by changes in shape that are transmitted to the RFID tag from the article, there is a fear of a failure occurring in which the RFID tag breaks.