8 December 2011

Osram Pointled chosen as light source in Lumidigm’s fingerprint sensors

Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH of Regensburg, Germany says that its Pointled has selected by Lumidigm as the illumination source in its Mercury and Mariner Fingerprint Sensors (Lumidigm M-Series).

Lumidigm, which develops and commercializes personal biometric identification products and services, has long been at the forefront of the fingerprint sensor market with its proprietary multispectral imaging technology. Osram says that the recent adoption of its compact, bright and efficient Pointled has enabled Lumidigm to reduce the size and cost of its sensors and expand the reach of fingerprint authentication into new applications.

Lumidigm provides fingerprint scanning with a particular emphasis on high performance in real-world conditions. Its patented multispectral fingerprint technology closes a 20% performance gap often seen with conventional technologies because it illuminates both surface and subsurface fingerprint features, ultimately collecting more biometric information from the finger than conventional sensors can.

“We chose the Pointled product from Osram Opto Semiconductors for our Mercury and Mariner product lines because of the unique combination of small package size, symmetric radiation pattern, long lifetime and the ability to operate in high ambient temperatures,” comments Lumidigm’s chief engineer Steve Corcoran. “These attributes made it possible for us to design a compact illumination system that produces a highly uniform and efficient lighting profile at the fingerprint reader platen,” he adds. “Thanks to the excellent output of the Osram Pointled, Lumidigm is able to leverage our multispectral technology in a compact fingerprint sensor series.”

The Pointled is a combination of advanced package and chip technologies, says Osram. The firm claims that it is the smallest LED with an integrated reflector and is suitable for both surface-mount technology (SMT) and zero-height mounting. Its compact dimensions (2mm diameter x 0.775mm high) allow the mini light source to be sunk completely into the printed circuit board, suiting applications such as Lumidigm’s M-Series fingerprint sensors where space is at a premium. The typical brightness of the white mini LED is currently 800mcd at a beam angle of 120°, suiting the unique imaging application.

Tags: Osram LEDs

Visit: www.osram-os.com

Visit: www.lumidigm.com