Schott glass used in smartphone fingerprint technology

The first smartphone models using Schott’s ‘D263 T eco’ ultra-thin glass for their fingerprint sensor technology are now on the market.

These sensors help to protect the end-consumer’s privacy while maintaining a high level of convenience for the users.

Germany-based specialty glass expert Schott is the only company in the world to offer ultra-thin glass that can be chemically strengthened, making it well suited for robust sensor configurations in electronic devices.

As Schott D 263 T eco glass contains alkali ions, it can be reliably strengthened in an ion-exchange process, offering four times greater strength than non-strengthened glass.

The first Chinese smartphone manufacturers have adopted Schott’s D263 T eco ultra-thin glass as the cover material of the fingerprint sensor in their newest flagship models.

The glass is currently being evaluated at many glass processors, module assemblers and smartphones OEMs, both inside and outside of China.

“We are providing a glass solution that delivers the performance the industry demands“, said Dr. Jack Ju, Global Product Manager Thin Glass & Wafers at Schott Advanced Optics in China.

The characteristics of D263 T eco offer advantages over other material options, such as a high dielectric constant which makes it an attractive alternative to Sapphire glass.

In addition, Schott is able to supply the glass for mass production in thicknesses ranging from 50 µm to 210 µm with a very tight thickness tolerance.

Fingerprint sensors are becoming a must-have feature in innovative smartphones with a direct user benefit.

According to a recent study conducted by CNBC, more than 30% of American smartphone users currently do not use any type of security feature such as PIN codes to lock the screen of their devices.

Thus, they do not protect their personal information such as contacts, passwords, and maybe even credit card or bank account numbers.

“A fingerprint sensor is a great solution to secure this information: it is a very convenient, easy-to-use method to protect user privacy“, says Dr. Ruediger Sprengard, Head of Business Development Ultra-Thin Glass at Schott Advanced Optics.

“We expect many more applications to arise from this opportunity, such as the use of fingerprint sensors to enable a detection system for online/mobile payment systems and access control.”

This makes it possible to use very strong ultra-thin glass in sensor environments that require a particularly robust material and enables easier handling and processing of the ultra-thin glass.

Schott will present its innovative ultra-thin glass applications at C-Touch in Shenzhen (China) from November 25 – 27, 2015 (booth # 1F127).