Optical and Terahertz Anticounterfeiting Tags Via Non-Deterministic Deposition of Fluorescent Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract

Multi-level anticounterfeiting tags have been developed using a combination of different materials. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) mixed with titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used to produce flexible substrates. Fluorescent Opuntia Ficus-indica (OFI) extract dissolved with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is then sprayed over the substrate to create a random, yet unique deposition of droplets. Photographs of the tags are taken under UV illumination at different angles and analyzed through the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm to extract their unique features. The SIFT analysis reveals hundreds to thousands of matched features when a given tag is compared with itself, whereas this number drops to tens for different tags. To enhance the security of the tags, ITO is sputtered onto one of them in the form of a pattern formed by a patch array exhibiting a specific fingerprint at terahertz (THz) frequencies. The evaluation of ITO reflectance shows that each patch array has a unique and unpredictable response stemming from its distinct electro-optical characteristics. The non-deterministic response of sprayed dye droplets and ITO patches enables the realization of two-level authentication, which is difficult to replicate at a reasonable cost. The simple manufacturing process and inexpensive materials involved make the proposed tags easily integrable into packaging.