Fingerprint Technology – Bigger is Better

In his article ‘Emerging Fingerprint Technologies for Smartphones’ (see IDN January 2023), technology consultant Dr Alan Hodgson predicted that in response to the need for better fingerprint recognition on devices, technology suppliers would be looking to increase the size of their biometric sensors. And he was right!

UK-headquartered startup Touch Biometrix, a leader in biometric fingerprint sensor technology, has successfully developed the world’s largest TFT (thin-film transistor) based capacitive fingerprint sensor, using their novel Active Pixel architecture.

The TCAP60 is fabricated by Sharp Display Technology Corporation, a Sharp group company. The sensor measures 3.2 by 3 inches, and therefore meets the criteria for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) FAP60 standard ¹.

FAP 50 and 60 scanners can be used to capture four flat fingers and rolled fingers simultaneously. The high resolution sensor of the TCAP60 has 500 pixels-per-inch and captures the fingerprint patterns using a proprietary Touch Biometrix chip design – ROIC (readout IC) – ready to be shared with the application host system.