General Competition (October 1997)

Optical Maximum Entropy Verification (OMEV) Technology for Anti-Counterfeiting

Sponsor: Physical Optics Corporation

• Project Performance Period: 10/1/1997 - 9/30/2000
• Total project (est.): $2,323,620.00
• Requested ATP funds: $1,109,957.00

Pushing beyond the practical limits of optical technology, the Physical Optics Corp. aims to develop a potentially foolproof antidote to forgery and product counterfeiting, now estimated to cost the U.S. economy more than $80 billion annually. To accomplish this objective, POC first must extend industrial state-of-the-art capabilities in the critical areas of statistical optics, pattern recognition, optoelectronic packaging, signal processing, manufacturing, and software. POC's approach is based on a novel technology system that it calls Optical Maximum Entropy Verification (OMEV). As envisioned, the laser-based system will randomly generate patterns with micrometer-sized features, a feat difficult to achieve outside the laboratory. These patterns will be embedded in one-of-a-kind random-phase masks, which serve as templates for product labels. The authenticity of product labels is verified by comparing product label with a reference (master mask) in the OMEV optical correlator. Through complex statistical means, correlator and label work in lock-and-key fashion. Because the intricate patterns of masks are randomly generated, odds that labels can be forged are exceedingly slight--less than one chance in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, according to POC's calculations. OMEV labels will not contain redundant information, a wedge that opens the door to counterfeiting of holograms; nor will they be reprogrammable, a vulnerability of electronic "smart cards." The complexity of OMEV masks, labels, and keys may foil would-be counterfeiters, but it also presents a variety of process- and market-related challenges. While the system will not accept false labels, for example, it could reject true labels damaged during production. Reliability will be a key issue addressed during the development of a prototype OMEV system. Beyond surmounting significant technical hurdles, POC faces the additional challenge of devising low-cost methods for making key system components so that the technology is affordable for prospective customers, adding only a few cents to the price of their products.

For project information:

Laura Fabian, (310) 320-3088

ATP Project Manager

Thomas Lettieri, (301) 975-3496
thomas.lettieri@nist.gov