Todaya™s applications are increasingly requiring more intelligent and convenient human interface devices. Touch displays are already used in a lot of applications. They provide a good interface for customers but to add features like authentication or personalization additional components are required.
In order to combine such features into a small and easy-to-use solution, ROHM Semiconductor and AuthenTec have collaborated on a new solution offering.
Fingerprint Authentication is widely accepted today. It is the most cost effective Biometric Technology in the market with proven reliability in tens of millions of Notebook PCs and mobile handsets. With new sensors like AuthenTec’s AES1750 this technology is now ready to address also new features like touch navigation in addition to the typical authentication features which can be used for personalization or secure access management.
The AES1750 TruePrint® smart sensor is the first to take full advantage of AuthenTec’s new TouchStone™ packaging technology, which provides a perfectly flat, uniformly colored surface for a smooth feel as well as enhanced durability and aesthetics. It is the first sensor to fully integrate AuthenTec’s TrueNav™ technology in silicon, enabling designers to use the sensor as a replacement for a wide array of mechanical input control devices including track balls, touch pads, scroll wheels, and optical joysticks, with a significantly thinner component while also offering enhanced security and personalization features for end users.
The new developed ML67Q5260 from ROHM Semiconductor is the perfect companion chip for this sensor. Based on OKI Semiconductor’s proven technology this MCU provides hardware accelerated fingerprint authentication, on-chip flash memory for storage of up to 45 fingerprint templates, a free programmable ARM7 microcontroller core and a rich set of peripherals including USB. The ML67Q5260 manages all the features of the sensor and provides an easy software interface to the host system or even replaces such a system by using the resources of the integrated ARM microcontroller. An ultra-small WCSP package with a size of only 4x4x0.4mm completes the impressive feature set of this device.
The integration of these functions in just two components significantly reduces the time to market as well as the total bill of material. In addition, the advanced package technology provides designers the flexibility to develop very small and aesthetic products. The high durability and the ultra-hard surface coating of the sensor even allow designing waterproof systems for outdoor usage.
With these features ML67Q5260 and AES1750 are the perfect solution for a wide field of applications like smart remote controls, mobile phones, PNDs or gaming. But also traditional biometric applications like access control or secure network/data access can take advantage of the additional functionality provided by this chipset.
