Luminescent Dopant Spatial Patterns for Secure Optical Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical anti-counterfeit methods are vulnerable to replication and intensity variations, and struggle to unambiguously determine the origin of emitted light, making them unreliable for authenticating products.
Innovation Solution
An optically detectable marker comprising a matrix material doped with multiple luminescent dopants, each with unique absorption bands, forming spatial patterns that can be excited by specific wavelengths, allowing for unique spatial patterns to be read and used as a digital fingerprint for authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If organic dyes with broad spectral features or quantum dots are used for optical anti-counterfeit tagging, then the emitted light can be detected, but the methods are vulnerable to intensity variations, crosstalk and replication, and the origin of emitted light cannot be unambiguously determined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the optical detection system by using multiple distinct excitation wavelengths, each selectively exciting specific luminescent dopants with narrow absorption bands. This segmentation allows precise identification of light origin by matching excitation wavelength to specific dopant emission, eliminating the ambiguity present in broad-spectral methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning specific luminescent dopants to specific spatial locations within the marker, where each dopant has a unique narrow absorption band excited by a specific wavelength. This creates localized optical signatures that can be precisely identified and traced to their origin, preventing replication and crosstalk.
2Reliability
If multiple luminescent dopants with unique absorption bands are used to form spatial patterns, then unique patterns can be generated for authentication, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple luminescent dopants with narrow absorption bands into a single marker composition, where each dopant contributes a specific spatial pattern when excited at its unique wavelength. This combining approach creates a composite security feature that is highly secure yet can be read out systematically by sequentially exciting each dopant type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves universality by designing a marker system where multiple dopants with different narrow absorption bands can be excited by different wavelengths to produce multiple spatial patterns. This multi-functional approach allows a single marker to encode multiple layers of authentication information, increasing security without requiring multiple separate markers.
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 provides a secure and unique physical unclonable function (PUF) device that is difficult to replicate, enabling reliable authentication of products by generating a large number of unique patterns, thus preventing counterfeiting.
Implementation Method 1
a first luminescent dopant comprises a first unique absorption band such that the first luminescent dopant may be excited by illumination of a first wavelength
Implementation Method 2
the first luminescent dopant comprises a first unique absorption band such that the first luminescent dopant may be excited by illumination of a first wavelength
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7B
AI summary
An optically detectable marker comprising a matrix material, which is doped with a plurality of individual luminescent dopants and comprising at least a first luminescent dopant and a second luminescent dopant is described. The first luminescent dopant comprises a first unique absorption band such that the first luminescent dopant may be excited by illumination of a first wavelength, and wherein the first luminescent dopant is distributed in the matrix material so as to form a first spatial pattern in the matrix material, which first spatial pattern may be optically detected by illuminating the optically detectable marker by a light source illuminating light of the first wavelength. The second luminescent dopant comprises a second unique absorption band such that the second luminescent dopant may be excited by illumination of a second wavelength, different from the first wavelength, and wherein the second luminescent dopant is distributed in the matrix material so as to form a second spatial pattern in the matrix material, which second spatial pattern may be optically detected by illuminating the optically detectable marker by a light source illuminating light of the second wavelength.