It is used in stores to make no-touch purchases with our credit cards or phones.
Casinos even use RFID tags to authenticate their chips to prevent counterfeiting.
It improved the security of standard RFID authentication by using terahertz radio waves.
Instead of using regular adhesive on the tags, the teammixedmicroscopic pieces of metal in with the glue.
The sheer number of particles and their random orientation make it virtually impossible to duplicate the pattern.
“These metal particles are essentially like mirrors for terahertz waves.
They are also so cheap to manufacture that a large company could affordably deploy them throughout its supply chain.
The researchers designed the tags with tiny slots.
When hit with the signal, the 1mm waves “shine” through the slots.
However, the system does carry some severe limitations.
One is that terahertz transmissions are subject to significant signal loss and degradation.
The sensor must be within 4 centimeters of the tag to read it effectively.
This weakness eliminates it from many applications that RFID is suitable for, such as automated warehouse inventory systems.
Additionally, the scanner cannot vary more than 10 degrees from perpendicular without suffering too much degradation.
Han said the team plans to continue working on the technology to address these weaknesses in future studies.
He hopes their research inspires other groups to explore terahertz RF applications to help overcome the challenges it presents.
However, it should work just fine for small-scale counterfeit prevention.
In this case, you might use terahertz for ID, security, and authentication.
There are a lot of possibilities out there,” Han said.
