Unclonable Features via Electrospraying of Bulk Polymers

Abstract

The ability to encode unclonable information using low-cost materials and processes is of significant interest for anti-counterfeiting and information security applications. In this study, we present a versatile approach based on electrospraying of polymer solutions to generate randomly positioned complex features as a form of physically unclonable function (PUF). The key advantage of this approach is that readily available low-cost bulk polymeric materials can form small and complex features using a simple process. Polymers of varying composition and molecular weight, together with different solvents and electrospraying conditions, are systematically explored to construct the parameter space for PUFs of varying characteristics. Besides the randomness in the spatial positions and sizes of features, the key advantage of the presented approach is the ability to generate complex 3D shapes, which are very difficult, if not impossible to fabricate with the most advanced fabrication techniques. The inclusion of photoluminescent molecules establishes an additional security layer. The additive nature of operation enables multiplexing, i.e., deposition of multiple materials on the same substrate. The fabricated PUFs have an average uniformity of 0.533 and uniqueness of 0.495, which are highly close to an ideal value of 0.5. The authentication is effectively performed using a feature detection algorithm without the need for markers and precisely defined rotation angles, greatly relaxing constraints associated with the imaging. Direct application of PUFs on the label of goods and authentication via a handheld microscope demonstrate the practical utility of the presented approach.

A multicolor carbon dot doped nanofibrous membrane for unclonable anti-counterfeiting and data encryption

“…[20][21][22] Recently, randomly distributed ESNFs or natural micro/nanofibers have rapidly developed as a novel candidate of PUFs. [23][24][25][26] Feng et al fabricated plasmonic anti-counterfeiting labels based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of the Au@SiO 2 -embedded ESNFs. 23 Tas -cıog ˘lu et al produced unique security patterns by electrospinning and verified the random patterns using an image processing method.…”

“…24 The randomness of electrospun nanofibers (ESNFs) arises from the stretching, elongation and deformation of droplets within Taylor cones during the electrohydrodynamic process, resulting in linear segment perturbations, unstable bending and small coils. 22,25 Then, the strong PUF based on these kaleidoscopic morphologies is believed to be unpredictable and effective against machine learning attacks. 27 Another concern is the conciseness of fingerprints.…”

Graphene-Based Physically Unclonable Functions with Dual Source of Randomness

“…Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) have recently attracted increasing attention for authentication and anticounterfeiting applications because of their unpredictable and unreproducible nature. The underlying concept of PUFs is the use of physical systems with random responses as cryptographic primitives. , Various research efforts − have been made to create PUF-based security tags that are completely immune to forgery and cloning. High encoding capacities have been attained by maximizing the spatial randomness of tag components and using multiplex encoding strategies. − Cost-effective and widely applicable fabrication processes should be further developed to realize the extensive use of such PUF-based security tags in various commercial applications.…”

Smartphone Authentication of Unclonable Anticounterfeiting Labels based on a Microlens Array atop a Microphosphor‐Doped Layer

“…[12] Esidir et al reported that electro-spraying could be used to create polymer mats with unique morphologies and properties that could be used as a basis for anticounterfeiting. [13] A paper by Wang et. al.…”