Researchers have created a device that could help determine if certain products are fraudulent using printed lasers. The same document also reveals a method for printing electronics with ultra-thin graphene.
The "anti-fraud detector" could be used to pick out fake currency and even pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge University news release reported.
The device employs an already-in-use method of printing "liquid-crystal lasers with an inkjet printer." Using the printer allows the team to meticulously control the color and pattern combinations of the laser.
"The detector takes advantage of this by shining a second, laser pulse on to the printed one. It then reads the wavelength of the light emission from the printed laser through a dedicated software, and reproduces that reading as a pattern on a spectrograph," the news release reported.
These printers could be used for a variety of products because it is applicable on almost any surface.
"Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are sold fake pharmaceuticals under the mistaken belief that they will help them, while counterfeit products cost companies hundreds of billions of pounds," Doctor Damian Gardiner, who worked on the project, said. "We think that our printed lasers could be used to protect both products and people."
The other device (a graphene printer) was used to create a small piano. This endeavor demonstrated the possibility of using graphene to print important electronics, such as heart monitors.
The researchers created a graphene ink that possesses extraordinary amounts of flexibility, transparency, and electrical conductivity. The piano aims to demonstrate the ink's potential.
"Both of these devices show how graphene could be printed on to a whole range of surfaces, which makes it ideal for printed electronics," Doctor Tawfique Hasan, the lead researcher behind the prototypes, said. For example, it might eventually be possible to print electronics on to clothing and to make wearable patches to monitor people with health conditions, such as a heart problem."
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