New ultra-high resolution fingerprint recognition technology

According to the report of the company, French research institute Leti recently announced that the European research and development project PiezoMAT (PIEZOelectric nanowire MATrices, piezoelectric nanowire matrix) has developed a pressure fingerprint sensor that can achieve more than twice the resolution currently required by the US FBI. rate. Its proof-of-concept product demonstrates a piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire interconnect matrix grown on silicon that reconstructs the smallest fingerprint characteristics of humans at a resolution of 1000 dots per inch (DPI).

“This pressure fingerprint sensor is made by growing integrated piezoelectric ZnO nanowires on silicon, opening the way for ultra-high resolution fingerprint sensors with resolutions of over 1000 DPI (currently smartphone fingerprinting resolution can be achieved) "About 500 DPI," said Leti project manager Antoine Viana. "The technology has the potential to deliver significant improvements in security and identity applications." The eight members of the project are from European companies, universities and research institutes. A demonstration product embedded in a silicon chip with 250 pixels and circuitry for signal collection and post processing. This chip is used for verification and demonstration of concepts and important technical results, and does not reach the potential maximum of nanowire integration density. Later, we will further optimize sensor resolution and study full electronic integration.

The project also accumulates valuable experience and techniques in several key areas, such as optimization of seed layer processing, local growth of directional ZnO nanowires on silicon substrates, mathematical modeling of complex charge generation, and emerging applications for packaging. Synthesis of polymers, etc. The PiezoMAT project lasted for 44 months and cost 2.9 million euros, supported by the European Commission's seventh framework plan. Its partners include: Leti (France), Fraunhofer IAF (Germany), Centre for Energy Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Hungary), Universität Leipzig (Germany), Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania), SPECIFIC POLYMERS (France), Tyndall National Institute (Ireland) and OT-Morpho (France). Further reading: "Fingerprint Sensor Applications and Technology - 2017 Edition"