Phosphor Identification via Temporal Emission Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current authentication methods for valuable articles, such as documents and luxury goods, face challenges in distinguishing between photo-responsive materials, leading to difficulties in detecting counterfeits and forgeries, as many materials emit similar colors or responses.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a light source to illuminate a photo-responsive material, capture its emission, and analyze changes in the response over time, including rise time, decay time, absorbed wavelength, and emitted wavelength, to identify unique characteristics and authenticate the material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If color-based authentication is used to detect photo-responsive materials, then authentication can be performed quickly, but many different phosphors emit similar colors making it impossible to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from measuring only steady-state emission color to measuring dynamic temporal parameters (rise time, decay time, persistence) of phosphor emission. By changing the measurement parameters from static color coordinates to dynamic temporal characteristics, the system can distinguish between different phosphors that emit similar colors, thereby improving identification accuracy while maintaining rapid authentication capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamic temporal measurement of phosphor emission characteristics. Instead of relying solely on static color emission, the system measures how the emission intensity changes over time (rise time, decay time, persistence), converting a static measurement problem into a dynamic one. This allows differentiation of phosphors with identical colors but different temporal response signatures
2Loss of information
If multiple types of photo-responsive materials are used to encode more information, then information capacity increases, but the complexity of distinguishing and identifying each material type increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a temporal dimension to the measurement space by measuring emission characteristics over time rather than just in steady state. This transforms the identification problem from a 2D color space to a multi-dimensional space including time parameters, enabling differentiation of more material types without increasing the physical complexity of the identification system
Solution Approach 2:
By measuring multiple temporal parameters (rise time, decay time, persistence) in addition to color characteristics, the system creates a richer parameter space for material identification. This allows encoding more information through the combination of temporal and spectral characteristics, increasing information capacity while using the same basic measurement apparatus
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
This approach allows for rapid and accurate identification of specific photo-responsive materials, enhancing authentication security by using unique 'fingerprints' measured during extended excitation periods, thereby improving detection of authentic and counterfeit articles.
Implementation Method 1
A first disclosed aspect is a system for interrogating a photo-responsive material with light. The system utilizes a light source to illuminate a photo-responsive material
Implementation Method 2
a detector to capture an emission from the photo-responsive material
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a system and method for interrogating a photo-responsive material, such as for authentication purposes, utilizing a light source to illuminate a photo-responsive material, a detector to capture an emission from the photo-responsive material, and a processor to receive a response from the detector while the photo-responsive material is being illuminated after a maximum response has been received, then measuring a change in the received response.