STTR Phase II: A Carbon Nanotube Metrology System for Conterfeit Detection

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II project is to develop advanced nanometrology of carbonaceous nanomaterials, in particular for the burgeoning counterfeit detection marketplace. Nanotechnology offers a new paradigm for the world's anti-counterfeiting efforts; in particular, the carbon nanotube (CNT) offers a new means for development of irreproducible labels. This project will develop an instrumentation platform for field operations in counterfeiting detection. The World Customs Organization estimates that counterfeiting accounts for 5% (or more) of global trade. Through the tailorable material properties of nanomaterials, there is an opportunity to offer a new development paradigm of anti-counterfeiting labeling platforms. Such labels could be used across a broad swath of the world's economy in products such as drug packaging, food processing, electronics, etc.