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

这个STTR一期项目将支持开发一个强大的新追踪平台，在全球打击高风险供应链中的假冒产品。从制药到航空再到国防，许多行业现在都面临着一个日益严重的问题：如何保持供应链中正品的可见性，同时识别可能伤害客户并对国家安全造成严重影响的黑市和灰色市场产品。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，将物理供应链与数字供应链连接起来。这些代码是用纳米粒子打印的，只有在暴露在具有非常特殊性质的激光下才能看到。这项研究的安全平台将为美国工业提供一个强大的新系统，用于认证正品，并在全球供应链中保持可见性。这个小企业技术转让第一阶段项目开发了一个旨在防止假冒的系统。该系统基于1)隐蔽的印刷标记，携带编码信息，将近红外（NIR）激发转换为可见光或波长较短的NIR光，以及2)专有的读取-解码器系统，该系统可通过网络访问安全数据库。该项目解决的两个主要技术挑战都涉及最大限度地提高系统的整体信噪比。第一个挑战是提高一种新型微乳液（水连续相）油墨的长期稳定性和向上转换的纳米颗粒有效载荷能力。第二个挑战是制造微型或纳米级的衬底，这些衬底会大大放大上转换信号。成功地克服这些技术障碍将大大提高技术商业化和第二阶段开发的准备程度。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增强250倍。这种改进将改变系统，使阅读器/解码器装置能够使用较低的激光功率，从而降低成本，并大大扩展系统的用途，例如手持便携式阅读器。

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.