Thin-film sensor partners developing finger vein biometrics

Biometrics firm Mofiria and Isorg, a French company specializing in organic photodiodes and printed electronics, have partnered to develop a new sensor technology for vein-based authentication.

The result is supposed to be an ultra-thin sensor, about 1mm thick, capable of authenticating individuals through their finger veins. The sensor could be on the market within a year.

In conventional vein authentication, an optical lens focuses light onto an image sensor, which requires a focal length of several centimeters to capture a stable vein image.

Mofiria and Isorg have circumvented this issue by combining the latter company’s photodiodes and TFT (thin-film transistor) backplane with tailored optics and Mofiria’s vein authentication.

Photodiodes are devices that detect light and convert it into an electrical signal. In applications like this, they detect near-infrared light reflected from veins.

A TFT backplane controls individual pixels in a display or image sensor. It acts as a circuit that allows precise control over each pixel’s brightness and color. In this context, the TFT backplane is integrated with the photodiode to create accurate and reliable imaging of finger veins.

Per a release, one of the key features of the new biometric sensor is its ability to place the near-infrared LED, which illuminates the veins, on the same plane as the film sensor using Mofiria’s reflection scattering method.

Isorg CEO Dieter May says the approach allows for more diverse product development: “In the security field, we believe there is a need for large-area sensors, ultra-thin sensors and sensors that require sensing in the near-infrared region, which is difficult.”

Mofiria CEO Akira Shibata says he sees new possibilities for vein authentication, such as wearable terminals, in mobile devices and on IoT devices.

Shibata bills the pair’s work as delivering “easy, safe and accurate personal identification in a wide range of situations.”

Mofiria has said it is talking with multiple manufacturers about collaborations.

The company is the latest to collaborate with Isorg on biometric sensors. Earlier this year, Isorg announced a new collaboration with Precise Biometrics on modules for smartphones.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  finger vein  |  Isorg  |  Mofiria  |  Thin Film Transistor (TFT)  |  vein biometrics