Testing Magnetic Stripe Cards

Magneto-optical technology enables real-time visualization of barcode structures for quality assurance and forensic investigations.

A magnetic stripe consists of a plastic film composed of magnetizable micro-particles. Magnetic stripes are usually found on the back of EC, credit or access cards and are used to store information. The information on the magnetic stripe is written using electromagnetic read/write heads in the form of local magnetizations of magnetic micro-particles.

Magneto-optical sensor systems, such as our computer-aided cmos-magview or our mobile hand-held magview, are ideal for quickly and reliably testing the quality of the magnetic structures on the magnetic stripe. The information can be visualized within seconds and invalid or possibly manipulated data can be identified.