Confounded Luminescent Taggants for Anti-Counterfeiting Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current luminescent phosphor compounds used for authentication are vulnerable to counterfeiting as sophisticated individuals can determine their components using spectrometry, allowing reproduction of unauthentic articles, thereby compromising their authentication benefits.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a substrate with a first luminescent taggant and an extrinsic feature with a second luminescent taggant that produces emissions in an overlapping band, creating confounded emissions distinguishable from substrate emissions alone, to enhance authentication by differentiating authentic from unauthentic articles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single luminescent phosphor compound is used for authentication, then the authentication process is simple and cost-effective, but the system becomes vulnerable to counterfeiting as sophisticated individuals can determine its components using spectrometry
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is segmented into multiple independent luminescent phosphor compounds, each with distinct spectral signatures. Instead of using a single phosphor compound that can be easily analyzed, the system divides the authentication mechanism into multiple components (first phosphor compound and second phosphor compound) that work together to create a more complex spectral profile that is difficult to replicate through simple spectrometric analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite luminescent materials by combining multiple phosphor compounds with different emission characteristics. The first phosphor compound emits in a first spectral band while the second phosphor compound emits in a second spectral band, creating a composite authentication system that leverages the properties of multiple materials to enhance security against counterfeiting.
2Reliability
If multiple luminescent phosphor compounds with different spectral bands are used, then counterfeiting becomes more difficult, but the authentication equipment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication equipment employs dynamic excitation by sequentially providing first excitation energy to excite the first phosphor compound and second excitation energy to excite the second phosphor compound. This dynamic, time-sequenced approach allows the system to manage multiple phosphor compounds without requiring all excitation sources to operate simultaneously, thereby reducing the instantaneous complexity of the equipment while maintaining high authentication reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively renders forgery and counterfeiting more difficult by producing emissions with distinct characteristics, ensuring reliable authentication of articles by distinguishing authentic from unauthentic through unique emission patterns.
Implementation Method 1
The first luminescent taggant produces substrate emissions in a substrate emission band when the substrate is exposed to substrate excitation energy
Implementation Method 2
A luminescent phosphor compound is a compound that is capable of emitting detectable quantities of radiation in the infrared, visible, and/or ultraviolet spectrums upon excitation of the compound by an external energy source
Implementation Method 3
The extrinsic feature includes a second luminescent taggant that produces extrinsic feature emissions in an extrinsic feature emission band that at least partially overlaps the substrate emission band
Implementation Method 4
energy transfer from the host material/sensitizing ion(s) to the emitting ion(s), and radiation of the transferred energy by the emitting ion(s)
Implementation Method 5
the substrate emissions and the extrinsic feature emissions combine in the overlapping emission band to produce confounded emissions that are distinguishable from the substrate emissions
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments include articles, authentication methods and apparatus, and article manufacturing methods. An article includes a substrate with a first luminescent taggant, and an extrinsic feature with a second luminescent taggant, which is positioned proximate a portion of the article surface. The first and second taggants produce emissions in overlapping emission bands as a result of exposure to excitation energy. Above the extrinsic feature, the substrate and extrinsic feature emissions combine in the overlapping emission band to produce “confounded” emissions that are distinguishable from the substrate emissions taken alone. An authentication system determines whether, in a region corresponding to a “substrate-only” region of an authentic article, emissions having first emission characteristics are detected in the overlapping emission band. The system also determines whether, in a region corresponding to an “extrinsic feature” region of an authentic article, the confounded emissions are detected in the overlapping emission band.