Professor Sergei Maximovsky, a researcher from the Moscow-based Lebedev Physical Institute, has potentially developed a new protection system for banknotes, the Russian daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported. A number of international patents have been obtained for the innovation, including US, Japanese and Chinese patents.
At the heart of the technology is the application of a specialized image that consists of “several thousands of nanoparticles of any metal.” According to the developer: “This drawing shines brightly when looked at against a source of light, making it possible even for an old granny with glasses to see it.”
“If you turn a bill, you will see colors change from, say, black to red or white. And if we make the layer of nanoparticles a bit protruding, even a blind person will be able to tell a forged note from a real one,” Maximovsky added.
In this new method, the paper used to make banknotes is saturated with a special solution and is then exposed to a laser beam, causing the nanoparticle crystals to start growing on its surface. The protrusion of the nanoparticles can be varied at will.
Professor Maximovsky has come up with a technique that enables crystal to grow rapidly — up to 80-100 meters per second. To ensure such a leapfrog, “it took me a few decades of my life,” he said.
