Fingerprint module maker CrucialTec said on Feb. 22 that it will start supplying its on-screen fingerprint scanning solution that allows fingerprint authentication on a smartphone screen, not the home button, to global smartphone manufacturers this year.

Smartphone makers have been pinning high hopes on the new technology that ensures both better security and more flexible device design.

“Our on-screen fingerprint solution, dubbed Display Fingerprint Solution or DFS, is getting positive responses from our clients, especially those in China,” a CrucialTec official told The Investor, adding that related talks are ongoing with smartphone manufacturers.

“The first smartphones with the fingerprint solution will hit the market this year,” he said, declining to name the makers.

CrucialTec holds 50 patents related to the new biometric technology. The module, consisting of transparent components such as a thin film transistor and a sensing electrode, can be embedded under the smartphone screen.

The firm said its sensor is sensitive enough to detect a touch of a single hair and can extract a high-resolution fingerprint at 500 dots per inch.

The firm said the technology also takes mobile security up to the next level by allowing users to rest multiple fingers on the screen, not just one, for authentication.

Some flagship phones and wearable devices are expected to adopt the technology partially from this year, the CrucialTec official said.

“The company aims to commercialize an upgraded solution that enables fingerprint authentication on any part of the smartphone screen next year,” he said.

Global fingerprint sensor and module firms, including US-based Synaptics, have been working on on-screen fingerprint scanning but many of them are still struggling to elevate technical levels for immediate commercialization.

By Kim Young-won/The Investor (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)