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

A phosphor-particle-loaded microlens array on a polymer substrate offers an attractive unclonable anticounterfeiting label design. A random pattern of bright emission points is created due to the random coincidences of light focused by a microlens with an underlying phosphor microparticle. The change of the bright point patter with the angle of the incident light (owing to a shift in the locations of the focal points) makes the labels unclonable. This work examines the authentication of such labels using a single smartphone. The smartphone flashlight provides illumination whereas the camera is used for detection (optical filters prevent capture of scattered source light). A 196-bit binary string is created from the captured images to identify which lenses in the 14 x 14 array create bright emission points for a given position of the smartphone. The classification of test and reference images as matching or not is achieved with >99% confidence, as is a 1 cm tolerance for the positioning accuracy of the smartphone. Moreover, authentication is possible for different distances between flash and camera provided this is less than 3 cm. In summary, the present work quantifies the good potential of the microlens array microphosphor unclonable label concept for authentication using a smartphone.

Automated summary

A phosphor-particle-loaded microlens array on a polymer substrate provides an unclonable anticounterfeiting label design. The random coincidences of light focused by a microlens with a phosphor microparticle create a random pattern of bright emission points. The authentication of these labels using a single smartphone is possible through the smartphone flashlight and camera, with >99% confidence in matching test and reference images and a 1 cm tolerance for smartphone positioning accuracy.