Tiny Tech 47: Nano-fingerprints: Combating Counterfeits

Today from the world of Tiny Tech:

How do you prove that you are you? One way is to take advantage of the fact that your fingerprints make a pattern that is uniquely yours. But how do we prove that the things around us – from dollar bills to documents to pharmaceuticals – are genuine and not counterfeits? One way is to label them with similar complex patterns, such as the holographic images on driver's licenses and passports. But even these patterns can eventually be copied and counterfeited because the same pattern is used over and over.

To solve this problem, scientists have recently developed a new kind of artificial fingerprint. By using a precisely aimed laser to heat a film consisting of a mixture of different powders, a random pattern can be transferred to an object. The pattern is unique like a fingerprint, and can be recognized by its emission of red, blue or green light at different places. Because the fingerprint is nano-sized and random, it is virtually impossible to counterfeit.

So, how do we recognize those who invented this technique? I’d say they have their fingerprints all over it.

Tiny Tech is made possible by the National Science Foundation and WUFT. To learn more about Tiny Tech, go to tinytechradio.org.

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