A team of scientists has developed a novel digital encoding and data storage system based on a combination of microcapsules containing different luminescent dyes and phase change materials. This work represents an important step forward in the field and could be key to the development of complex encryption systems for different areas such as cybersecurity or anti-counterfeiting.

The team includes Dr. Claudio Roscini (Senior Researcher) and Prof. Daniel Ruiz-Molina (CSIC Researcher and Group Leader) from the ICN2 Nanostructured Functional Materials Group, in collaboration with researchers from the Chemistry Department of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Prof. Jordi Hernando, and Dr. Jaume Ramón Otaegui. Their work is published in Advanced Functional Materials.

This paper presents a new strategy for digital data encoding and storing in an effective, cheap, and easy-to-read way. The researchers created a pixel system using microcapsules containing a mixture of fluorescent dyes and phase change materials (i.e., paraffins). These phase-change materials are normally known for their capacity of absorbing and emitting heat in response to a change in temperature.

In this work, the researchers exploited the phase transition of these materials to encode data according to the different emitting colors and the phase of the paraffin in response to heat.

These novel pixels are able to respond to changes in temperature or voltage by changing the color of the light they emit. This allows the system to perform two types of advanced data encoding operations: three-dimension (3D) data encryption and four-dimension (4D) data storage.

In summary, the three dimensions would be determined by the position (2D, like in QR codes) and colors (3D) of the pixels, while the fourth dimension is regulated by the material's response to temperature.

This technology could be applied in areas such as anti-counterfeiting or high-density data storage, offering low-cost, high-efficiency solutions with sufficient complexity.