PORTABLE READOUT QUANTUM PHYSICAL UNCLONABLE FUNCTIONS USING LUMINESCENT MATERIALS FOR AUTHENTICATION

Counterfeiting has become a global challenge with consequences far beyond fake luxury products. The global counterfeit market is estimated at €445 billion, around 2.5% of world trade, putting consumers at risk, undermining legitimate businesses and disrupting supply chains in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals and food to toys, electronics and luxury goods. It is also linked to child labour and to unregulated, environmentally damaging manufacturing. Launched on September 1, 2026, with nearly €3 million from the European Innovation Council (EIC), QuantumPUF, whose consortium gathers today for its kick-off meeting, sets out to develop next-generation authentication technologies based on quantum and photonic principles. QuantumPUF aims to move beyond these limitations with Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) based on novel quantum and photonic technologies. PUFs use the unique physical characteristics of an object to create an identity that is extremely difficult to reproduce or clone. The project will design three classes of photonic PUFs (classical, quantum-readout and fully quantum PUFs) built on luminescent materials, produced with scalable techniques such as inkjet printing and read out with portable optical setups integrated into smartphones.