Humans have known about liquid crystals for over a century. Yet, researchers are still finding new uses for them. Hakam Agha explains their role in an innovative new spinoff of the University of Luxembourg.
Hakam Agha, whose PhD focused on liquid crystals, is accustomed to people knowing little about his specialist field. “The easiest approach is to look at your TV, often a liquid crystal display, or LCD,” the Ukraine-Lebanese national smiles. “We realised that liquid crystals have a lot of properties that people are not aware of. And they have become a hot topic that everyone is exploring.”
University Professors Jan Lagerwall, from the department of physics and material sciences, and Gabriele Lenzini from the SnT had the idea to harness liquid crystals as a security track and trace solution. Using microfluidics, they transformed liquid crystals into small spheres that reflect different colours, creating a unique optical pattern that is unclonable.
“You cannot copy it because you’re basically taking a bunch of marbles, throwing them on the floor and then good luck finding the same arrangement again!” says Agha.
The spheres, which measure 50 micrometers, can be permanently attached to any object and even embedded in metals. Their optical patterns viewed under a microscope and, in future, using a mobile app.
“You cannot copy it because you’re basically taking a bunch of marbles, throwing them on the floor and then good luck finding the same arrangement again!”
Hakam Agha, Project Officer at the University of Luxembourg
Trace Crystal, the spinoff created to bring the proof of concept to market, is currently focusing on the valuable jewellery market by working with a manufacturer in India.
Agha said: “For the moment we decided that the high value market is our beachhead market. […] There is a lot of research done behind in order to reach this level. But we did a cost estimate and we’re talking about something very cheap compared to other competitors.”
The startup’s six-strong team will continue to work on the proof of concept until May 2023 but it continues to examine tailoring its solution to other target markets, particularly those with the highest risk of counterfeit product trading. The project, which has been funded by a European Research Grant and the FNR, will in 2023 begin fundraising and developing partnerships. Among the latter, it is in talks with a tech firm to pair its solution with the blockchain.
It is also developing a small-scale lab to scale production.
