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Detection Device Uses Printed Liquid Crystal Lasers to Fight Fraud

A detection device which uses printed lasers to identify counterfeit goods has been developed by electrical engineers at the UK's University of Cambridge. The anti-fraud detector works by exploiting an existing method for printing liquid crystal lasers with inkjet printers, which gives the user precise control over the laser's pattern and color combination. The detector then takes advantage of this by shining a second, laser pulse on to the printed one. It then reads the wavelength of the light emission from the printed laser through dedicated software, and reproduces that reading as a pattern on a spectrograph. The result is that each printed laser can be designed to give out its own, unique optical signature. Since lasers can be printed on to all sorts of surfaces - such as plastic, paper, metal, and glass - the technique could be used to authenticate a wide range of products.

Topics:
Detectors Lasers & Laser Systems Manufacturing & Prototyping Optics Photonics Sensors Software

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    Transcript

    00:00:00 the material on this acetate film looks like some sort of hologram but in fact it's a liquid Crystal laser which has been printed onto the surface principle lasers like this are relatively new technology but in the future they could be used to fight fraud even before anything has been done to it we can see that the laser has some distinctive characteristics in particular it is

    00:00:23 iridescent giving off a luminous color which changes when it is seen from different angles one a area where this could be exploited is anti-counterfeiting by printing the laser we can give it a very specific pattern and color combination when a second pulse laser is directed onto this it gives off a unique Optical signature this can be read back using a special

    00:00:46 detector connected to a spectrograph each optimal signature registers its own wavelength pattern on the display because printable lasers can be deposited onto a wide range of materials such as plastic paper metal and glass they can also be printed onto products this expensive Chinese tea has a laser printed onto it so that it can be

    00:01:07 checked to make sure it is the real thing printed lasers could also give Banks much finer control over the patterns used to authenticate money perhaps more importantly these lasers could also be used in the Pharmaceuticals industry every year hundreds of thousands of sick people are sold fake drugs in the mistaken belief that they will help them ultimately this

    00:01:30 fraud detecting technology could be used not just to protect products but also to save lives