Ultra-Durable Information-Encoded Anti-Counterfeiting Self-Assembled Nanocrystal Labels

Abstract

Forgery, a serious universal problem, is causing huge economic losses every year. Against forgery, information-encoded labelling systems have attracted significant attention for a diverse range of anti-counterfeiting applications. Here, cost-effective and ultra-durable nanocrystal-based labels are proposed and demonstrated in which information can be encoded as physically unclonable functions (PUFs) of hardware-oriented security systems. The fabrication method of the PUFs is based on the self-assembly of colloidal quantum wells (CQWs) and generation of unclonable features within their pattern at a liquid-liquid interface. These CQW PUFs are analyzed with well-known statistical tests, which show a uniqueness level of 0.5060 +/- 0.0323 and prove their randomness. In addition, a feature-matching algorithm is used to authenticate these information-encoded CQW PUFs. For the safety of the semiconductor chips, a CQW PUF is attached to the surface of the chip to protect against hardware cyber-attacks. Eventually, fabricated labels are examined against high temperatures and moisture environments. The fabricated CQW label is durable for a period of 150 days it is tested, demonstrating ultra-high stability of the label. High stability and durability, cost-effectiveness, and high encoding capacity make these proposed nanocrystal labels extremely attractive for large-scale commercialization.