Unclonable MXene Topographies as Robust Anti‐Counterfeiting Tags via Fast Laser Scanning and Siamese Neural Networks

Abstract

An ideal anti‐counterfeiting technology is desired to be unclonable, nondestructive, mass‐producible, and accompanied with fast and robust authentication under various external influences. Although multiple anti‐counterfeiting technologies have been reported, few meet all of the above‐mentioned features. Herein, a mechanically driven patterning process is reported to produce higher dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene topographies in a scalable yet unclonable manner, which can be used as anti‐counterfeiting tags. By using a high‐speed confocal laser microscopy, the complex topographies can be extracted within one minute and then reconstructed into 3D physical unclonable function (PUF) keys. Meanwhile, a Siamese neural network model and a feature‐tracking software are built to achieve a pick‐and‐check strategy, enabling highly accurate, robust, disturbance‐insensitive tag authentication in practical exploitations. The 3D PUF key‐based anti‐counterfeiting technology features with several advances, including ultrahigh encoding capacities (≈10144 000‐107 800 000), fast processing times (<1 min), and high authentication accuracy under various external disturbances, including tag rotations (≈0°‒360°), tag dislocation(s) in x(y) directions (≈0%‒100%), tag shifts in z‐direction (≈0%‒28%), tag tilts (≈0°‒5°), differences in contrasts (20%‒60%) and laser power (6.0‒9.0 µW). The anti‐counterfeiting technology promises information security, encoding capacity, and authentication efficiency for the manufacturer‐distributor‐customer distribution processes.

Ultradurable Embedded Physically Unclonable Functions

“…(c) Flame and pressurized water stability tests of ultradurable embedded PUFs. (d) Comparison of the thermal stability of PUFs with the literature. ,,,,− …”

Robust Optical Physical Unclonable Function Based on Total Internal Reflection for Portable Authentication

“…The thermal stability of a PUF is crucial for the application in anticounterfeiting labels, ensuring reliability during shipping and storage. Figure (b) illustrates the comparison of thermal stability results for various PUFs. ,,,,− The analysis focused on the peak temperature values to facilitate an accurate comparison. The results indicate that recent developments in PUF thermal stability have significantly extended the operational temperature range, increasing the stability threshold from 50 to 1000 °C.…”