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US 6,899,827 B2Granted
Inorganic optical taggant and method of making
AssigneeUT-Battelle, LLC
InventorsRobert J. Lauf, Kimberly K. Anderson, Frederick C. Montgomery
Life of this patent
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AssigneeUT-Battelle, LLC
InventorsRobert J. Lauf, Kimberly K. Anderson, Frederick C. Montgomery
Estimating the term…
Sintered, translucent ceramic microbeads, preferably alumina, titania, zirconia, yttria, zirconium phosphate, or yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) are doped with one or more optically active species. The beads may be added to substances such as explosives in order to create a distinctive optical signature that identifies a manufacturer, lot number, etc. in the event of the need for forensic analysis. Because the beads have a generally spherical surface, the radius of curvature provides an additional distinguishing characteristic by which a particular sample may be identified. The beads could also be formulated into paints if needed to create distinctive optical signatures for camouflage, decoys, or other countermeasures and could also be applied as a dust to track the movement of personnel, vehicles, etc.
An aptical taggant material comprising sintered translucent ceramic beads wherein said beads comprise an oxide of an element selected from the group consisting of Al, Ti, Zr, Hf, Dy, Ho, Y, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu with at least one optically active species in solid solution whereby said beads have a distinctive optical spectrum and said beads have a substantially spherical surface with a characteristic dimaeter greater than about 10 μm and less than about 2 mm whereby said characteristic diameter provides a further distinguishing feature.
A method for making an optical taggant comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.