Scientists develop new digital coding system using fluorescent pixels

A team of scientists has developed a new digital coding and data storage system based on a combination of microcapsules containing different luminescent dyes and phase change materials. This work represents an important advance in the field and could be essential to the development of complex encryption systems for different areas such as cybersecurity or the fight against counterfeiting.

The team includes Dr. Claudio Roscini (principal investigator) and Professor Daniel Ruiz-Molina (CSIC researcher and group leader) from the ICN2 Nanostructured Functional Materials group, in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Chemistry at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). , Professor Jordi Hernando and Dr. Jaume Ramón Otaegui. Their work is published in Advanced functional materials.

This article presents a new strategy for encoding and storing digital data efficiently, cheaply, and easily to read. The researchers created a pixel system using microcapsules containing a mixture of fluorescent dyes and phase-change materials (i.e. paraffins). These phase change materials are normally known for their ability to absorb and radiate heat in response to a change in temperature.

In this work, the researchers exploited the phase transition of these materials to encode the data based on the different emitting colors and the phase of the paraffin in response to heat.

These new pixels are able to react to changes in temperature or voltage by changing the color of the light they emit. This allows the system to perform two types of advanced data encoding operations: three-dimensional (3D) data encryption and four-dimensional (4D) data storage.

In summary, the three dimensions would be determined by the position (2D, as in QR codes) and colors (3D) of the pixels, while the fourth dimension would be regulated by the material’s response to temperature.

This technology could be applied in areas such as anti-counterfeiting or high-density data storage, providing low-cost and highly efficient solutions with sufficient complexity.