Samsung has applied for a patent that describes how an entire display could be turned into a fingerprint sensor.
Samsung has applied for a new patent that might enable the company to turn the entire display on their smartphones to a fingerprint scanner. The patent mentions an optical fingerprint reader that can also be used on foldable phones and needs a dedicated low-power processor so that it doesn’t consume too much power while waiting for input by the user. It will be quite interesting if Samsung does manage to convert the entire display into an in-display fingerprint scanner as an in-display fingerprint sensor on current phones are affixed in place and one needs to press down on the screen in a set spot to unlock their phone.
As described in the patent, the new biometric sensor will divide the display into various pixel groups and when it senses a touch input, the brightness of that particular region is increased for scanning the input. There will also be three different brightness levels of 200 nits, 600 nits and a “high brightness mode” that could very well emit over 1,000nits of brightness. A scan will require between 20-30ms and adjusting the brightness adjustment is said to take about 200ms. The overall event of scanning a fingerprint and unlocking the device could take around 700ms, which is a norm for optical in-fingerprint scanners. Here is an image from Samsung’s patent showcasing how the feature could work on a device to enable Samsung Pay.
DJ Koh, Samsung's President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, had earlier announced that the company would implement an ultrasonic sensor in its Galaxy S10 smartphone. Additionally, this is not the first time we have seen Samsung apply or get a patent for an in-display fingerprint sensor. An earlier patent suggested that the company might employ four extra sensors, in addition to an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor. There could also be a dedicated ultrasonic transmission/reception module that will activate a particular area in the display to scan the fingerprint.
However, one is suggested not take patents very seriously as companies keep patenting unique and sometimes futuristic concepts. It depends on the existing technology and the final decision rests with the company whether it wants to use a patent on their device or not.
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