A crystal grown to a recipe
Uniform sub-micron rare-earth crystals, each recipe with its own optical answer. Over 600 million distinct codes from one shelled design.
Intelligent Material® →Technology
NovaVera's Tag & Detect Platform.
Unclonable Intelligent Material® crystals, paired with proprietary readers built to recognize them, for authentication you can be certain of.
Illustration · infrared drawn in false color
How it works
Embed. Verify.
The Tag & Detect platform runs on two principles. Intelligent Material® goes into the product while it is made, dispersed and bonded through the material rather than applied to its surface. Readers then measure its optical signature at parts-per-million to parts-per-trillion sensitivity, instantly and without damaging anything, in the field or in the lab.
Built into the material
Intelligent Material goes into any component of the product or its packaging: inks, fibers, polymers, films and metals. It becomes part of the item, inseparable from it, turning the whole product into a secure, authenticated asset.
Formats and inkjet →Read in an instant
NovaVera readers excite the crystals and decode their signature with proprietary algorithms, telling crystals apart even when several are combined in one multiplexed mark.
The readers →Formats and lifecycle
Give the product an identity when you make it.
The identity goes in as part of the material and lasts from raw material to the end of the product's life. That makes one investment useful to operations, quality, the supply chain and the brand.
Inks and coatingsInkjet, flexo, offset, varnish
PlasticsMasterbatch for molding and extrusion
FibersAdded with a process ingredient
Labels and hologramsOvert, covert and forensic in one01Process and concentration control
02Machine and line traceability
03Quality and failure analysis
04Supply-chain verification
05Brand protection and anti-counterfeit
06End-of-life sorting and recycling
Why our crystal is different
Grown, not ground. And it shows.
Most security phosphors in the industry are made by solid-state reaction: powders baked at high heat into a hard cake, then crushed and milled. What comes out is a mix of jagged chunks, a micron and larger, no two alike. Intelligent Material® is grown crystal by crystal in solution, to a recipe, so every crystal comes out small, the same size and the same shape. Drag the line to compare.
Intelligent Material®Solid-state phosphor
How it is madeGrown in solution, to a recipeBaked, then crushed and milled
SizeFrom about 40 nm to 0.3 µm, on purposeA micron and larger
ShapeUniform, crystal after crystalJagged, broken, all different
InkjetJets through the nozzleClogs the head
In clear materialsInvisible in varnish, resin and glass-clear plasticBig enough to haze or speck
SignalSame color and glow time every batch, so it can be a codeVaries particle to particle
Partners under NDA
A serial number in the ink itself.
Crystal ink runs on standard thermal, continuous and UV inkjet lines, at full line speed, giving every item an invisible code. Equipment, recipes and line results are shared with partners under NDA.
No code yet? Request NDA access from Viva Bell.
Detect
A reader for every person in the chain.
NovaVera detection devices read the optical signature of Intelligent Material and decode it with proprietary algorithms, including multiplexed signatures that carry several crystals at once. Readings are non-destructive and instant, in the field or the lab, with no network needed.
By phone
Smartphone app
A phone excites the crystal and confirms it is there, then reads the QR code to check that unit against its record. No spectroscopy knowledge needed.
- Crystal present: yes or no
- QR for unit-level identity
- Built on US 12,130,232 B2
Used by Pharmacists, store staff, consumers
By reader
Handheld forensic reader
The handheld reader excites the crystals and measures their full optical signature: which crystal is present, how much, and whether it matches the lot.
- Identifies and quantifies
- Vial, syringe and flat-sample holders
- Works offline, on the spot
Used by Inspectors, customs, QA
On the line
Inline and imaging readers
Fixed readers and cameras sit on the production line, at receiving or in the lab: measuring dose, separating products, and capturing each item's LightMap™.
- Concentration and dose control
- Product and alloy sorting
- LightMap™ capture and signing
Used by Operations, recycling, lab
The devices
Actual readers, in real hands.
Every device shines light on the product and reads what the crystal sends back. Pick the one that fits the person doing the checking.
See where the crystal is
A live picture of the mark on its screen: the printed code, the stitched number, the random LightMap™ pattern. Hold it over the item and the hidden layer appears.
Check and record every unit
For receiving, warehouses and the shop floor: one press of the scan key reads the crystal and logs the item against its record.
Name the source in a second
It tells which program a sample belongs to. Here it reads tagged plastic pellets and answers with the brand they were made for.
Partners under NDA
A phone-grade reader chip, tuned to our crystals.
NovaVera and IMS are developing low-cost, phone-grade readers matched to the crystals, including readers that take a whole code at once. Details for partners under NDA.
No code yet? Request NDA access from Viva Bell.
Partners under NDA
Ask the product more than one question.
A reader can ask a product more than one question before it says "genuine". How is shared with partners under NDA.
No code yet? Request NDA access from Viva Bell.
Connect
Works on its own. Plugs into your systems.
The crystal answer never depends on a server. When you want more, the same reads feed serialization, track-and-trace and quality systems.
Offline by designA reader confirms the crystal on the spot, with no network and no database lookup.
Serialization & track-and-traceEvery scan checks that the QR is authentic and has not been seen before. Parent-child labels link each case to the units inside.
LightMap™ signed codesThe item's own crystal fingerprint is signed and printed in its barcode, so even item-level checks need no database.
Quality dataConcentration, dose and line readings flow into your process control and QA records.
Implementation
How deployment works.
NovaVera fits into the manufacturing and supply chain you already run. A typical engagement moves from technical evaluation to full production, typically in about four months, in four structured, low-disruption steps, and you decide after each one whether to go on.
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01Weeks 1–2
Discovery & Fit Assessment
We evaluate your product substrates, manufacturing process and authentication requirements in a working session with our scientists. Most common materials (ink, fiber, plastic, film) are fully supported.
You getA written fit assessment, the recommended crystal and the detection method for your process.Decision pointgo on, adjust, or stop -
02Weeks 3–16
Material Integration & Pilot
Intelligent Material® goes into samples of your own ink, plastic, fiber or adhesive (3–6 weeks in our lab), then into your production line at low concentration. We validate signal consistency and detection accuracy before full deployment.
You getTest data on your own samples, then pilot batches read successfully on your line.Decision pointgo on, adjust, or stop -
03Alongside the pilot
Detection Workflow Setup
Readers, the phone app and tracking software are configured for your verification points: manufacturing, distribution or point of sale, based on your supply chain.
You getReaders in hand, checkpoints defined, and the people who check trained.Decision pointgo on, adjust, or stop -
04About 4 months from start
Production Rollout & Support
Full-scale production begins, with NovaVera providing ongoing technical support, calibration and platform updates as your program scales. Supply runs under a long-term solution contract or a short-term data-collection contract.
You getA supply agreement, a quality plan under our ISO 9001 system, and a named team.
A fraction of a cent per item. The crystal works at parts-per-million loadings in an ink, plastic, fiber or adhesive you already use. Safety and technical data sheets are available under NDA.
Start with a fit assessment
See it working
Serialization, smartphones and Intelligent ID.
The reader can be the device already in your pocket: near-infrared excitation and a mobile optical sensor turn a smartphone-class device into a reader (US 12,130,232 B2). The identity becomes one more authentication factor, built into the object itself.
Defend product integrity.
NovaVera works with central banks, pharmaceutical manufacturers, brand owners and more, from the first sample to full production. Tell us what you need to protect. We reply within two business days.