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17 Jun 2002
A UK start-up has secured UKP 45,000 to develop an instrument for generating security holograms.
Exclusive from Opto & Laser Europe (OLE) magazine
The Loughborough University spin-off Laser Optical Engineering (LOE) is planning to create a system for writing infrared holograms that would guarantee the authenticity of high-value components. The holograms will be written with diffractive optical elements, also known as kinoforms. These will shape the laser beam into a specific pattern for each component. The holograms will only be visible under infrared light so that, although a hand-held scanner will be able to read them, they will appear virtually invisible to the naked eye.
Simon Hargrave, LOE's business director, said: "We're confident that this technology will be vital in areas where counterfeiting is rife, and where companies want to protect their brand identity." He cites parts such as those used in aircraft, cars or computers as examples of high-value components that provide a potential market for LOE's application.
Holograms are already used for the authentication of credit and debit cards. Unlike LOE's planned system, such holograms are made visible to the naked eye so that the authenticity of the card can be checked. However, said Hargrave, these holograms are seldom examined closely: "People see a glittery patch on the card and assume that it's genuine, making it easier for counterfeits to be bought inadvertently."
John Tyrer is LOE's managing director and was involved in the original work on credit-card holograms. "It's easy now to copy the information held on a magnetic strip, and I could copy the holograms on credit cards in less than 48 hours. You have to accept that people will try to duplicate the security marks - so you have to build traps to catch them.
"To prevent somebody from getting hold of an infrared reader and copying the holograms, we will use cryptology - something that most holographers know nothing about. We will come up with a mechanism to encode the holograms so that, if somebody copies the reader, a second security measure comes into play."
Fraudsters wanting to copy a hologram would first have to obtain a reading device to view it, then decode the encrypted pattern and finally reproduce the original kinoform. "This is a radical step for optical security - it's the equivalent of the move from using wax seals to magnetic strips. It will re-establish the public's faith in this type of security," said Tyrer.
So far, LOE has produced some prototype images and the company plans to have a full demo system ready in 18 months.
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