STMicroelectronics-Metalenz partnership expands to boost metasurface optics adoption

A new license agreement between STMicroelectronics and Metalenz aims to ease the adoption of metasurface optics for a range of uses, including biometrics, LIDAR and camera assist applications on smartphones.

The partners are targeting high-volume use cases in the consumer, automotive and industrial markets. In addition to those noted above, those use cases include gesture recognition, object detection and robotics.

ST gets broader capabilities to use Metalenz’ IP in its 300mm semiconductor and optics manufacturing.

Metalenz offers the PolarID face biometrics system for smartphone implementation, and CEO Rob Devlin explained possible medical diagnostic applications last year as well.

The partners cite a market forecast from Yole Group that metasurface optics will have a $2 billion market by 2029.

“STMicroelectronics is the unique supplier on the market offering a groundbreaking combination of optics and semiconductor technology,” says Alexandre Balmefrezol, EVP and GM of STMicroelectronics’s Imaging sub-group in the announcement. “Since 2022, we have shipped well over 140 million metasurface optics and FlightSense modules using Metalenz IP. The new license agreement with Metalenz bolsters our technology leadership in consumer, industrial and automotive segments, and will enable new opportunities from smartphone applications like biometrics, LIDAR and camera assist, to robotics, gesture recognition, or object detection. Our unique model, processing optical technology in our 300mm semiconductor fab, ensures high precision, cost-effectiveness, and scalability to meet the requests of our customers for high-volume, complex applications.”

The 2022 integration of Metalenz technology with FlightSense that Balmefrezol refers to was the startup’s market debut.

ST uses its FlightSense technology for Human Presence Detection on Windows Hello.

“As use cases for 3D sensing continue to expand, ST’s technology leadership in the market together with our IP leadership solidifies ST and Metalenz as the dominant forces in the emergent metasurface market we created,” Devlin says.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  gesture recognition  |  licensing  |  Metalenz  |  object detection  |  Polar ID  |  STMicroelectronics