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Laser marking aims to beat bombers

A NanoVia product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 22, 2002

NanoVia has applied its patented laser imaging techniques to developing submicron markings on fibre materials that could possibly be used as taggants.

NanoVia has applied its patented laser imaging techniques to developing submicron markings on fibre materials that could possibly be used as taggants (an element designed to survive an explosion so as to aid in criminal investigation).

Initial results are promising, however further studies by the team at NanoVia will be seeking relationships with government agencies to further its funding.

The use of taggants for identifying the manufacturer of explosives is common; many companies place colour markers or chemical signatures to achieve this form of verification or auditing.

However, in the world of forensic sciences, taggants with added features such as ID numbers and/or barcodes could provide valuable clues to investigators.

NanoVia's the goal is to produce a mark or code using either an alphanumeric or barcode system.

This mark would be formed using laser light to initiate a surface contrast change or to physically etch the surface of the fibre with these codes.

The idea is to produce a mark on a fibre that would not affect the performance of black powder, and be in large enough quantity to be capable of retrieval after a bomb blast.

Ultimately, investigators would benefit from unambiguous tags leading to information regarding the origins of the bomb's materials.

NanoVia believes that a special combination of traits could also be added to the fibres to enhance their survivability and ease their collection, such as phosphorescent additives allowing unique illumination.

"Our desire with this application is to provide another valuable and reliable tool for law enforcement agencies.

The timing of our development is unfortunately appropriate", says Todd E Lizotte, Vice President of R and D and CDO of NanoVia.

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