Crystalline colloidal arrays responsive to an activator
OwnerSean Purdy, Noel Vanier +2inventors
InventorsSean Purdy, Noel Vanier, Xiangling Xu, Robert Cavlovich
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Abstract
A method of producing a radiation diffractive sensor that diffracts radiation according to Bragg's law is disclosed. The sensor is produced by forming an ordered periodic array of particles on a substrate, coating the array of particles with a polymeric matrix, curing the matrix to fix the array of particles within the matrix and contacting the fixed array with an activator, wherein the activator shifts the wavelength of radiation diffracted by the sensor from a first wavelength to a second wavelength.
Claims30
A radiation diffraction sensor comprising:
- an ordered periodic array of particles formed on a substrate;
- and
- a solid matrix composition coated onto the array of particles;
- wherein the matrix composition is selected to be responsive to an activator, such that exposure to the activator shifts the wavelength of radiation diffracted by the sensor from a first wavelength to a second wavelength.
A method of producing a sensor comprising:
- forming an ordered periodic array of particles on a substrate;
- coating the array of particles with a matrix;
- and
- curing the matrix to fix the array of particles within the matrix, wherein the matrix is selected to be responsive to an activator, such that exposure to the activator shifts the wavelength of radiation diffracted by the sensor to a shifted wavelength.
A method of authenticating an article comprising:
- forming an ordered periodic array of particles on a substrate;
- coating the array of particles with a matrix;
- curing the matrix to fix the array of particles within the matrix to produce a sensor that diffracts radiation at a first wavelength;
- applying the sensor to an article;
- and
- contacting the sensor with an activator such that the activator shifts the wavelength of diffraction, wherein the shifted wavelength of diffraction indicates the authenticity of the article.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.