Invisible Anti-Foregery Labels Can Maintain Authenticity Of Goods

A team from St. Petersburg Academic University and ITMO University has recently developed a new technology that can help mark the authenticity of the goods. The recently developedinvisible images can help manufacturers label jewelry, drugs, electronics, and other products and this image can be only seen using special equipment. The major advantage of this label is that the goods’ forgery could be reduced. In the journal Advanced Materials, the team proposes the majority of the companies across the globe are looking for new means to safeguard their goods from forgery. All the traditional methods only provide temporary protection and they have high chances of being decoded. However, the Russian scientists have developed a new label that is difficult to decode. The labels were made using semiconductor material and lasers.

Using laser, the researchers added ions of a rare-earth metal, erbium,to develop a rare image on a sticker prepared using a silicone nanofilm. The film contains a lattice of holes and thus, is invisible to the human eye. Some of these holes encompasserbium ions. The erbium containing holes is found to change color on being exposed to laser radiationand thereby, enablereading of the image.The wrongdoers are definitely going to take a while to discover the content in the images. For acquiring image details, they will have to gain access to the shipment system, know about equipment functionality, and also know about methods to read label. The newly created labels are highly secure due to its customizable characteristics.

The labels use erbium ion luminescence which depends on various parameters including intensity, wavelength, and radiative lifetime. These parameters further enhance the protection of the goods. The hidden image with an infrared sensor enables reading the information about the luminescence parameters. It adds an extra protective layer. The chemical and mechanical effects have been found to have no effects on the newly developed system and this system can also be created on a flexible film. It is believed that this promising technology will soon be introduced in the real sector of economy.