| Abstract Scope |
Counterfeit products threaten supply chain integrity, product authentication, and critical infrastructure, creating a pressing need for robust manufacturing-based security solutions. This work presents an innovative anti-counterfeiting approach that exploits the inherent stochasticity of Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM), arising from its turbulent particle–gas flow, to generate unique physical fingerprints. Unlike conventional labels or embedded tags, the proposed method produces physically unclonable functions (PUFs) directly from the unique surface and microstructural features formed during deposition, requiring no additional manufacturing steps. Microscopy and image-based feature extraction were employed to evaluate fingerprint uniqueness, repeatability, and authentication performance. Experimental results demonstrate scalable, high-throughput PUF fabrication with robust performance under thermal cycling and chemical exposure. Furthermore, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, coupled with quantitative surface uniqueness analysis, validate the inherent randomness and tamper resistance of the fabricated fingerprints. The proposed approach provides a scalable, low-cost framework for the secure authentication of high-value, mission-critical manufactured components. |