Schott has helped new smartphone models, first being released in China, to advance fingerprint sensors using ultra-thin glass.
Schott’s D263® T eco ultra-thin glass’s unique properties enable more responsive and reliable fingerprint sensors, which help protect the end-user’s privacy. In addition, Schott is the only company that offers chemically strengthened ultra-thin glass which is four times harder than other ultra-thin glass and is well-suited for robust sensor configurations in electronic devices.
Fingerprint sensors have become a must-have feature in smartphones. According to a study conducted by Consumer Reports, 34 percent of American smartphone users do not use any type of security feature, such as a four-digit PIN code, to lock their devices. In combination with passwords and PIN numbers, fingerprint sensors provide a simple, convenient, and intuitive layer of security that protects personal information, such as contacts, passwords, and credit card or bank account log-ins.
The thinness of Schott D 263® T eco glass, as well as its high dielectric constant and uniformity, allows the sensor to quickly recognize a fingerprint. The thinner the glass, the more sensitive the sensor’s cover can be. D263® T eco’s high dielectric constant makes it an attractive alternative to sapphire glass and other materials.
Schott can supply this ultra-thin glass solution in thicknesses ranging from 210 µm down to 50 µm with a very tight thickness tolerance. This ultra-thin glass enables reliable and high-level performance without increasing the cost for electronic device manufacturers.
Because Schott D 263® T eco contains alkali ions, it can be reliably strengthened in an ion-exchange process, and this chemical strengthening makes the glass four times stronger than other thin glass. Stronger ultra-thin glass ensures the reliability and functionality of fingerprint sensors, and it can be used in other applications requiring robust materials.
“As mobile payment adoption grows, and more applications accept a fingerprint as a key to entry, the reliability and ease-of-use of fingerprint sensors will be a paramount consideration for mobile device manufacturers,” says Dr. Ruediger Sprengard, Head of Business Development Ultra-Thin Glass at Schott Advanced Optics. “But this ultra-thin glass can also be used in other biometric sensors, employed in situations where security is essential, like a laboratory. Better materials like ultra-thin glass will ensure these locks of the future work reliably and accurately.”
Schott D263® T eco ultra-thin glass enables advances for manufacturers as varied as fabless sensor players, glass processors, module assemblers, and smartphone OEMs, both inside and outside of China. “Because D263® T eco’s technical advantages make it an ideal component in many modern applications, from semiconductor wafers to biometric sensors to batteries to wearable devices, Schott’s ultra-thin glass has almost limitless potential,” said Dave Vanderpool, Sales Manager Thin Glass & Wafer at Schott North America.