What’s hot for ‘08? The replacement of the silicon chip in RFID tags, if you listened to the buzz at the recent RFID Smart Labels USA conference in Boston, IDTechEx researchers say.

“There is huge interest in replacing the silicon chip in an RFID tag, and nowadays that is driven by more than cost” said Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx, in a news release.

Conference attendees heard from companies such as Kovio, Sologie and Sun Chemical about the possibilities of using printed electronics technologies in RFID tags as an alternative to the silicon chip.

Kovio’s keynote presentation covered nano-silicon printed RFID, and explained how they intend to commercialize it by year-end, and enable it to conform with the most popular RFID specification, ISO 14443.