Product piracy: glass marking fights counterfeiting

Using a robust and industrially established marking laser, it will be possible to both individually and quickly mark products with a distinct certificate of authenticity.

This can be done during the packaging process. This is the vision of the project GLaSIDeE. Scientists at the LZH are working on a process for anti-counterfeit marking on both flat and curved glass surfaces.

Unique fingerprints

The laser marking process can be used to generate decorative writing, a number, or a two-dimensional bar code directly in the glass. The markings are only a few nanometers deep.

Flexibility is the main advantage, since each part can be individually marked, for example with a serial number, without effort or extra costs.

Up to now, there has been no clear identification process for markings on glass. Thus, in this project a special process should be developed with which each part is given its own individual fingerprint. The LZH is also developing a reading process for invisible markings.

In combination with each other, they will be able to reach a higher anti-counterfeit rate than conventional processes.

The project „Glass Marking using the Laser as a Safety, Identification and Design Element“ (GLaSIDeE) is subsidized by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy within the Central Innovation program for Middle-sized Businesses.