Roger W. Phillips

The security enhancement of diffractive optically variable image devices

It is well known that Diffractive Optically Variable Image Devices (DOVIDs) can be copied, duplicated or simulated by the counterfeiters. Some customers consider that such devices are no longer secure and will not use them to protect their product. To avoid counterfeiting, DOVIDs are being made more complicated with the introduction of a large number of simultaneous images, where recognition by customers is strongly compromised. Future trends appear to favor multiple technologies in one device while allowing the consumer to readily identify and remember the device. One approach calls for a combination of the diffractive foil interference found in DOVIDs with thin film interference to create new security devices called SecureShift ChromaGrams. A second approach calls for a combination of diffractive and thin film interference in the form of pigments combined with magnetic fields during the printing process to create another new security device called a PrintaGramTM. Each type of enhanced DOVIDs will be discussed in terms of its optical performance, manufacturability, its counterfeit deterrence, and its application.