Nov 24, 2010 19:01 GMT  ·  By
Identification inside glass ampoule inscribed by the technology developed to mark space telescope components
   Identification inside glass ampoule inscribed by the technology developed to mark space telescope components

A new technology originally developed for the space industry has now made its way to the commercial sector. It allows for objects made of glass to be inscribed with tracking numbers without leaving any marks or cracks on their surface.

Keeping an eye on how glass art objects and other items exchange owners and move around has been a challenge since day one, given that it's hard to inscribe something on this material without damaging it.

But Belgian start-up company Trackinside found a solution to this problem. Using lasers, experts can now mark glassware with tracking numbers without cracking, heating or leaving marks on the material.

Initially, the technology was developed to aid the production space telescopes and related measuring equipment, and for etching the surface of lenses and mirrors bound for Earth's orbit.

The laser approach was produced by experts at the Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL), the national technology transfer broker that the European Space Agency operated in Belgium.

“It’s the only technology that can mark glass without damaging it,” explains the managing director of Trackinside, Michel Mestrez. It can be used to mark medical syringes, perfume vials or drinks bottles.

The most important component in this approach is a femtosecond laser, which is a device capable of sending laser pulses that last for only femtoseconds, one quadrillionth, or one millionth of one billionth of a second.

This type of laser is similar to equipment used in eye surgery, as it has the ability to penetrate a surface and reach a focal point underneath. The new femtosecond laser can for example pierce the glass wall of a syringe, and the inscribe data underneath.

Using these brief light pulses, serial numbers or other identification tags can easily be placed on glassware. The material is not damaged because of the low-impact nature of the approach.

This approach was developed on account of the fact that the European Union recently passed legislation calling for pharmaceutical companies to label individual products, and not just batches.

“Labeling each syringe has other benefits, too. With this technology, you can track medicine from the point of production. If you have a number labeled directly after filling up the syringe, you can trace that syringe all the way along, from production to use to disposal,” Mestrez says.

But the technology could also conceivably be used for luxury goods as well, such as those produced by high-profile brands. Original perfumes and cosmetics could in the future be tracked more easily.

“With pharmaceuticals, it’s about traceability. With perfume, cosmetics and luxury beverages, it’s about anti-counterfeiting,” Mestrez concludes.