Multi-level information security realized in ortho-stannic acid magnesium with a single activator of Tb3+

Nowadays, with the development of technology, the safety performance of traditional single- or dual-mode luminescent materials used for anti-counterfeiting has been significantly reduced due to their single and predictable readout process. In this work, we have synthesized a rare earth single-doped material Mg2SnO4:Tb3+ with persistent luminescence, photo-luminescence and photo-stimulated luminescence and found a distinction of emission color between photo-luminescence, persistent luminescence and photo-stimulated luminescence. Thus, a multimodal dichromatic luminescence was achieved by single doping. Based on these luminescence properties, we made chalks from the obtained samples to write confidential information on a black substrate and designed a multilevel encrypted strategy for anti-counterfeiting, which proves that the obtained materials have great application potential in the field of information security.

Automated summary

In this study, a rare earth single-doped material Mg2SnO4:Tb3+ with persistent luminescence, photo-luminescence, and photo-stimulated luminescence was synthesized, showing a distinction of emission color between different luminescence modes. This multimodal dichromatic luminescence has potential applications in the field of information security, as demonstrated by a multilevel encrypted strategy for anti-counterfeiting using chalks made from the obtained samples.