Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are sold fake pharmaceuticals under the mistaken belief that they will help them. We think printed lasers could protect both products and people
- Damian Gardiner
A detection device which uses printed lasers to identify counterfeit goods has been developed by researchers, who say that it could help to make products more resistant to fraud.
The detector is one of a number of innovations covered in a new report by the Cambridge Innovation and Knowledge Centre (CIKC), which has been developing advanced manufacturing technologies for photonics and electronics.
The same document also outlines a new method for printing graphene, showing how the one atom-thick material could be used to make cheap, printed electronics. Using a graphene-based ink, researchers have demonstrated this by creating a transparent, flexible piano.
The prototypes were developed within the University’s Electrical Engineering Division, and the teams are now working with partners in industry with a view to bringing them into commercial use.
Image - Left: The prototype laser detection device, which can be used to protect goods against counterfeiting. Right: Printed electronics enable flexible, digital displays which can be bent without breaking.
Credit: Nick Saffell
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Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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