Silicon Updates: Qualcomm's Next generation ultrasonic fingerprint sensors

Fingerprint sensor has become the most common feature of a mobile these days. Even a budge mobile comes with fingerprint sensor. These fingerprint sensors appear separately on the backside of the device or on the front face. Qualcomm has taken the placement of these fingerprint sensors to the next level with its next generation ultrasonic sensors.

At Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, has announced these ultrasonic sensors. These sensors can be placed anywhere on the deivce, even under the display of the device. Along with fingerprint sensing, these sensor are capable of detecting the heart beat and blood flow. These sensors can also recognise gestures through OLED displays up to 1200 micrometer thickness.

Areas of fingerprint sensing

The Qualcomm's ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are resistant to the most common contamination oil and water. These sensors are water resistant up to 1.5 meters depth for a duration of 30 minutes. With these sensors, the users can set directional gestures to perform a pre-defined user operation. As of now, many fingerprint sensors can capture images and can navigate to home, exclusive to each other. But with the Qualcomm's ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, users can get more advantage through gestures.

Qualcomm Fingerprint sensor

Form factor freedom:
These new sensors allow the OEMs to achieve unique form factors and designs. These next generation fingerprint sensors can scan over a thickness of 800 micrometers for metals and 650 micrometers for aluminium. As of now, Qualcomm has announced that the SoCs Snapdragon 660 and 630 support glass and metal sensors for fingerprint scanning. However, the glass and metal sensors are available to the OEMs from mid-July. The devices equipped with these sensors are expected to hit the markets in 2018.

Form factor for the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor