STTR Phase I: Multi-faceted System for Document and Product Security

STTR第一阶段项目将支持在全球高风险供应链打击假冒产品的斗争中开发一个强大的新跟踪跟踪平台。从制药到航空再到国防，许多行业现在面临着一个日益严重的问题，即在供应链中保持对正品的可见性，同时识别可能损害客户并对国家安全产生严重影响的黑市和灰市产品。该项目将以材料科学、光子学和信息技术的跨学科研究为基础，创建一个创新的新平台，通过使用放置在产品上的隐蔽代码将实体供应链与数字供应链连接起来。这些代码是使用纳米颗粒打印的，只有当暴露在具有非常特殊性质的激光下时，纳米颗粒才可见。这项研究启用的安全平台将为美国行业提供一个强大的新系统，用于认证正品并保持全球供应链的可见性。这个小型企业技术转让第一阶段项目开发了一个旨在打击假冒的系统。该系统基于1)携带编码信息的隐蔽打印标记，该标记将近红外(NIR)激发转换为可见光或较短波长的近红外光，以及2)专有的读取器-解码器系统，该系统能够通过网络访问安全数据库。该项目涉及的两个主要技术挑战都涉及最大化系统的总体信噪比。第一个挑战提高了新型微乳液(含水连续相)油墨的长期稳定性和上转换纳米颗粒的有效载荷能力。第二个挑战是制造微米或纳米尺度的衬底，极大地放大上转换信号。成功地克服这些技术障碍将大大促进该技术商业化和第二阶段开发的准备工作。据估计，在使用低激励功率密度时，达到特定研究目标中指定的里程碑将导致上转换强度提高250倍。这种增强将对系统进行改造，并能够在读取器/解码器设备中使用较低的激光功率，这反过来将降低成本，并将系统的用途极大地扩展到例如手持便携式读取器。

This STTR Phase I project will support the development of a powerful new track-and-trace platform in the global fight against counterfeit products in high-risk supply chains. From pharmaceuticals to aviation to defense, many industries now face a growing problem with maintaining visibility to the authentic products in their supply chain, while identifying black market and grey market products that could harm their customers and have serious impacts on national security. This project will build on interdisciplinary research from materials science, photonics and information technology to create an innovative new platform that connects physical supply chains with digital supply chains through the use of covert codes that are placed onto products. These codes are printed using nanoparticles that are only visible when exposed to a laser with very specific properties. The security platform that this research enables will provide U.S. industry with a robust new system for authenticating genuine products and maintaining visibility throughout the global supply chain. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project develops a system designed to thwart counterfeiting. The system is based on 1) covert printed markings, carrying encoded information, that convert near infrared (NIR) excitation either to visible light or to shorter-wavelength NIR light, and 2) a proprietary reader-decoder system that is cyber-enabled to access secure data bases. The two major technical challenges addressed in this project both involve maximizing the overall signal-to-noise ratio of the system. The first challenge improves the long-term stability and up-converting nanoparticle payload-capacity of a novel, micro-emulsion (aqueous continuous-phase) ink. The second challenge creates micro- or nano-scale substrates that greatly amplify the up-conversion signal. Successfully overcoming these technical hurdles will significantly advance the readiness of the technology for commercialization and Phase II development. It is estimated that reaching the milestones specified within the specific research objectives will lead to a 250x enhancement of up-conversion intensity when using low excitation power densities. Such an enhancement would be transformational to the system and enable the use of lower laser powers in the reader/decoder device which in turn, would lower costs and greatly extend the utility of the system to, for example, a hand held, portable reader.