Anti-counterfeiting tags with camouflaged QR codes on nanocavities, using polymer-dispersed-liquid-crystals

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Nicoletta, Giuseppe, Bruno, Mauro Daniel Luigi, Yu, Peng, Wang, Zhiming, De Santo, Maria Penelope, Caputo, Roberto, Ferraro, Antonio
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866913636268638208
author Nicoletta, Giuseppe
Bruno, Mauro Daniel Luigi
Yu, Peng
Wang, Zhiming
De Santo, Maria Penelope
Caputo, Roberto
Ferraro, Antonio
author_facet Nicoletta, Giuseppe
Bruno, Mauro Daniel Luigi
Yu, Peng
Wang, Zhiming
De Santo, Maria Penelope
Caputo, Roberto
Ferraro, Antonio
contents Counterfeiting poses an evergrowing challenge, driving the need for innovative and sophisticated anti-counterfeiting strategies and technologies. Many solutions focus on tags characterized by optical features that are partially or completely camouflaged to the human eye, thus discouraging scammers. In this paper, a QR code is laser printed on a thin plastic foil previously coated by a specific nanocavity consisting of a metal/insulator/metal/insulator (MIMI) multilayer. This metamaterial possesses unique features in terms of light transmission that are due to the specific design. A thin layer of polymer dispersed liquid crystals, fabricated incorporating specific nematic liquid crystals in a polymer matrix, is able to camouflage the QR code that becomes, then, readable only under specific thermal conditions. Three anti-counterfeiting tags were fabricated, each using a distinct LC with its own nematic-isotropic transition temperature. The peculiar combination of the unique optical properties of nematic liquid crystals and optical nanocavities results in the creation of a novel type of tags showing two different encoding levels. Stress tests including water immersion, bending test, and prolonged heating have been performed ensuring the long-term stability of the tags. The realized two security-level anti-counterfeiting tags are cost-effective, straightforward to manufacture and, thanks to their flexibility, can be easily integrated into packaging and products.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_02011
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Anti-counterfeiting tags with camouflaged QR codes on nanocavities, using polymer-dispersed-liquid-crystals
Nicoletta, Giuseppe
Bruno, Mauro Daniel Luigi
Yu, Peng
Wang, Zhiming
De Santo, Maria Penelope
Caputo, Roberto
Ferraro, Antonio
Cryptography and Security
Soft Condensed Matter
Emerging Technologies
Counterfeiting poses an evergrowing challenge, driving the need for innovative and sophisticated anti-counterfeiting strategies and technologies. Many solutions focus on tags characterized by optical features that are partially or completely camouflaged to the human eye, thus discouraging scammers. In this paper, a QR code is laser printed on a thin plastic foil previously coated by a specific nanocavity consisting of a metal/insulator/metal/insulator (MIMI) multilayer. This metamaterial possesses unique features in terms of light transmission that are due to the specific design. A thin layer of polymer dispersed liquid crystals, fabricated incorporating specific nematic liquid crystals in a polymer matrix, is able to camouflage the QR code that becomes, then, readable only under specific thermal conditions. Three anti-counterfeiting tags were fabricated, each using a distinct LC with its own nematic-isotropic transition temperature. The peculiar combination of the unique optical properties of nematic liquid crystals and optical nanocavities results in the creation of a novel type of tags showing two different encoding levels. Stress tests including water immersion, bending test, and prolonged heating have been performed ensuring the long-term stability of the tags. The realized two security-level anti-counterfeiting tags are cost-effective, straightforward to manufacture and, thanks to their flexibility, can be easily integrated into packaging and products.
title Anti-counterfeiting tags with camouflaged QR codes on nanocavities, using polymer-dispersed-liquid-crystals
topic Cryptography and Security
Soft Condensed Matter
Emerging Technologies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.02011