Our products are ARA Authentic-LT® – laser foils, which can be used to apply counterfeit-proof markings to almost any product surface.

Our latest development is an additive coating that can be applied to nearly any product surface with a laser beam—as text or graphics—and is always several degrees warmer than its surroundings.
This behavior is so extraordinary and contradicts the zeroth and second laws of thermodynamics that this marking on a product is an excellent unique and unambiguous feature for confirming its authenticity—making counterfeits nearly impossible. The technology behind it is explained here, and an article about it was published in the 03/24 issue of Laser-Magazin.
Other special features of these counterfeit-proof laser markings are:

• they are very adhesive and abrasion-resistant and cannot be removed non-destructively,
• they are available in multiple colors,
• they can be applied very gently to many product surfaces,
• a quick and reliable authenticity check is possible with your own smartphone and our newly developed app, and
• these markings can also be applied as codes and thus be used as a “counterfeit-proof source of information.”

Would you like to know if these counterfeit-proof labels are also suitable for your products?
Then read our Questions and Answers - or contact us directly about our Demo Box.

Questions and Answers

• What materials can these counterfeit-proof laser markings be applied to?

  On almost all materials, such as metal, glass, ceramic, plastic, textiles, leather, or paper

• Who would be interested in these counterfeit-proof markings?

  For all companies and institutions that want to ensure their products can be clearly identified as originals, i.e., by end customers, suppliers, customs, their own employees for quality control, etc.

• I'm interested – how do I get these counterfeit-proof markings now?

  You can write to us or call us, let us know which products are involved, we discuss where the text, code, or graphic should be applied, and then we will create a sample for you. If necessary, a mutual non-disclosure agreement will be signed.

  If you are satisfied with the samples and our authentication concept, we will then consider together where the marking of your products is best carried out: at Ara-Authentic, at one of your suppliers, at a certified laser service provider, or directly at your facility.

• What is so unique about ARA-checkmyheat® compared to other methods and concepts in product and brand protection?

  That the laser marking itself is so counterfeit-proof, which also allows for quick and reliable authenticity verification via smartphone.

  The counterfeit-proof nature is ensured, on one hand, by the fact that numerous process parameters must be precisely coordinated in a vacuum PVD system to produce the laser foil to achieve the right result—namely, a laser-transferable PVD layer that does not yet exhibit visibility in the IR spectrum and cannot be replicated without exact knowledge of the timing and correlation of the process parameter settings. In principle, this is comparable to a very well-known black beverage whose taste competitors could not replicate for decades—even though the original beverage was constantly available for all kinds of analysis.

  But even if counterfeiters managed to get their hands on the, of course, highly secured process data, it would be of no use to them, because the laser-induced transfer of the PVD layers onto a product surface—which is always locally separate from the production of the laser foils—also requires precise knowledge of the specific sequence of correlated laser parameter settings.

  Just as with the laser foil production, the laser-transferred PVD markings are not reverse-engineerable: Although standard analysis methods can easily determine the exact material composition, crystal structure, and layer thickness, and methods like microscopy or scanning electron or transmission electron microscopy can visualize the layer structure and surface, and spectroscopy can detect the surface's interactions with light—even after all this information is available, one does not know which "dials to turn" to produce the absolutely necessary, specific, nano- and micro-scale morphological and topographical properties of the layer that create the unique effect.

• Why can these 'formerly PVD layers' be produced at all with the LIFT technology from Ara-Authentic and Ara-Coatings?

  Because two very special factors come together here, making it possible to generate and influence layer properties in a unique way: On one hand, it is the PVD technology itself, which allows for the production of so-called metastable layers by a kind of "rapid freezing" of the layer components growing on the product (which has been known for a very long time and has been used for decades in wear-resistant coatings, for example), which is also utilized for the production of the laser-transferable PVD layers. On the other hand, it is the laser beam-initiated introduction of very high energy in a very short time into a very small layer volume, which allows the usual thermochemical limitations to be bypassed, enabling not only the production of metastable layers but also metamaterials, i.e., substances that do not exist in nature and exhibit extraordinary properties.

• What is the benefit of marking products as counterfeit-proof in this way?

  This type of marking offers several advantages:

  - It gives buyers the security of purchasing the original product,

  - Companies are protected from liability claims,

  - The flexible design of the counterfeit-proof marking also allows it to be fashioned as a unique design feature,

  - Wearers of counterfeit consumer or luxury goods can be quickly identified even in public, because the smartphone-based authenticity check works even from a distance of several meters.

  - The evaluation app can be customized and used as a database or for advertising purposes for the manufacturer.

  - Manufacturers and companies within the supply chain or customs get a simple, reliable, and cost-effective way to not only verify the authenticity of a product at any time but also to secure additional data in this way and read it at different locations.

• Can I also use this method to protect my products from illegal reuse, for example, bottles from unauthorized refilling, or ensure that original parts reach the recipient in their original packaging?

  We have thought about that as well: We will soon be launching a second, counterfeit-proof marking based on a different effect that can be verified both by eye and with one's own smartphone. This can be applied, for example, as a band on bottle caps or as a label on packaging, and is irreversibly destroyed upon opening.

  Both the IR-verifiable feature ARA-checkmyheat® and the counterfeit-proof band or label carry the same code, so the recipient can quickly convince themselves with their own smartphone and a single app that they are holding the original product and the original packaging.