Natural Randomness as a Fingerprint: Using Nanotechnology to Fight
Counterfeiting
Professor Russell Cowburn *
Department of Physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London
We have found [1] that almost all paper documents, plastic
cards and product packaging contain a unique physical identity code formed from
naturally-occurring microscopic imperfections in the surface. This
covert 'fingerprint' is intrinsic, robust and virtually impossible to
modify controllably. It can be considered as a biometric identifier for
inanimate objects. It can be rapidly read using a low-cost portable
laser scanner, which uses the physics of laser speckle in order to probe
the surface with sub-micrometre accuracy. Many forms of document and
branded-product fraud could be rendered obsolete by use of this code.
[1] Nature 436, 475 (2005)
*
Russell Cowburn obtained his PhD in condensed matter physics from the
University of Cambridge in 1996. He then joined the Nanoscale Science
Group in Cambridge University Engineering Department, where he worked as
a post-doc for 1 year and as a Research Fellow of St John's College for
3 years, before being appointed to a faculty position at the University
of Durham in 2000. In January 2005 he became Professor of
Nanotechnology in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London,
where he leads a large research group studying applications of
nanotechnology to computer memory, cancer treatment and fraud
prevention. He is Director of two high technology spin-out companies
working in the area of nanotechnology.