A deactivation apparatus for an electronic article surveillance tag having a
plurality
of layers and an equivalent resonant circuit containing an inductor and a capacitor
is provided. The apparatus includes: a capacitor formed by a pair of conductive
capacitor plates separated apart by a dielectric layer; an inductor connected to
each of the pair of capacitor plates where an electromagnetic field of a preselected
frequency at a first magnitude impinging upon the tag causes the equivalent resonant
circuit to resonate and produce a detectable response from the tag; and, an electrically
weakened area in the dielectric layer between the pair of conductive capacitor
plates where the electromagnetic field at a second magnitude higher than the first
magnitude impinging upon the tag causes a conductive path through the weakened
area electrically connecting the pair of capacitor plates together and deactivating
the tag.
