FET INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD PROJECT.

THE DIGITUS PROJECT.

A fingerprint sensor technology for fingerprint authentication sensor based on ultrasounds.

The FET Innovation Launchpad DIGITUS is an EU-funded project for the development of a new fingerprint sensor technology for fingerprint authentication sensor based on ultrasound, that is more secure and convenient than passwords for modern electronics, making this technology an increasingly common feature in smartphones, tablets, and in a host of other applications. The technology allows fingerprint scanning through a surface providing reliability and permitting the integration of the sensor on any device.

THE DIGITUS PROJECT.

A fingerprint sensor technology for fingerprint authentication sensor based on ultrasound.

THE NEED.

The use of fingerprints for personal identification dates back to the ninetieth century, while its digital integration into every day devices is relatively new. Fingerprint authentication is more secure and convenient than passwords for modern electronics, making this technology an increasingly common feature in smartphones, tablets and in a host of other applications.

Almost 350 million fingerprint sensors will be shipped next year only for consumer electronics applications, for a market worth around 10 B€ globally.

With the world progressively going digital, digital security is the main concern and our daily experience highlights two main issues with respect to fingerprint sensors:

Reliability of the fingerprint sensor is a major issue, as capacitive fingerprint sensors can be easily spoofed. Besides, failures in recognising the fingerprint undermines the user experience.

Form factor: fingerprint sensors take a vital space of the display, challenging the ongoing trend of borderless consumer electronics.

That’s why the electronic industry is searching for a new technology to create a 3D

image of the fingerprints, which is more secure, energy efficient and seamlessly integrated in the device.

THE CHALLENGE.

At Piemacs, a high tech startup company stemming from the pioneering research activities carried out at the EPFL’s Muralt’s lab, we have developed a novel technology to realise a fingerprint sensor based on ultrasounds that can operate without direct contact with the finger, having high accuracy yet at a prototypal stage, also discriminating live from dead fingers.

The DIGITUS ultrasonic sensor is based on a piezoelectric thin film proposed within the FET-OPEN project BioWings. In fact, in the BioWings project the industrial goal is to realise a vibrating membrane that emits ultrasound waves into a liquid flowing through a channel.

addition, PZT thin films currently are the materials of choice for many applications of piezoelectric MEMS; this has led to more and more foundry services (i.e. STMicroelectronics, Rohm) which will decrease the fabrication cost of PZT- based fingerprint scanners).

Additionally, Piemacs’ thin film solution allows to reduce the operating voltage by at least 50% thanks to the higher piezoelectric coefficient, which makes it possible to use cheaper electronics.

THE CHALLENGE.

The DIGITUS ultrasonic sensor is based on a piezoelectric thin film proposed within the FET-OPEN project BioWings. In fact, in the BioWings project the industrial goal is to realise a vibrating membrane that emits ultrasound waves into a liquid flowing through a channel.

The main limitation of current pMUTs technology is its low electromechanical coupling coefficient, which is a measure of the efficiency with which the piezoelectric material converts electrical into mechanical energy. The higher the coupling coefficient, the more efficient the electrical-to-mechanical energy conversion is, and thus the lower the power consumption and the more sensitive the sensor. Piemacs’ sensor offers advantages both in manufacturing and in use such as miniaturization and lower power consumption. In addition, PZT thin films currently are the materials of choice for many applications of piezoelectric MEMS; this has led to more and more foundry services (i.e. STMicroelectronics, Rohm) which will decrease the fabrication cost of PZT- based fingerprint scanners).

Additionally, Piemacs’ thin film solution allows to reduce the operating voltage by at least 50% thanks to the higher piezoelectric coefficient, which makes it possible to use cheaper electronics.

ECONOMIC IMPACT.

SOCIETAL BENEFITS.

ECONOMIC IMPACT.

SOCIETAL BENEFITS.

INNOVATION AND LINK WITH THE BIOWINGS FET-OPEN PROJECT.

The BioWings FET-Open project focuses on the development of biocompatible electrostrictive materials for biomedical applications, through the use of ceria based thin films to be used in both the low and high frequency range. The DIGITUS concept stemmed as a spin-off product during the project execution, opening an interesting avenue for PZT thin films in the field of digital security.

This has the two-fold value of extending the range of materials and technologies that can be adopted in the BioWings project, at the same time broadening the scope of possible applications from biomedical to consumer electronics and digital security in general.

The successful outcome of this FET-Launchpad will allow Piemacs to move on with the product development, creating a new market opportunity for the company’s IP other than in the biomedical field.

Piemac’s sensor offers new advantages both in manufacturing and in use such as miniaturization and lower power consumption. In addition, PZT thin films currently are the materials of choice for many applications of piezoelectric MEMS, this has led to more and more foundry services (i.e. STMicroelectronics, Rohm) which will decrease the fabrication cost of PZT-based fingerprint scanners.

We have developed a working prototype which delivers 32×32 pixel images at a lateral resolution of 150μm per pixel, in an automated way. It is a very flexible system which allows to test many different configurations to find out which one is optimal. However, because of its purpose as a development tool, it has a very large footprint.

DIGITUS GOALS.

Introducing a new technology in the digital security industry requires the involvement of the main stakeholders, to ensure that the system is designed taking into consideration the key requirements of the target application scenarios as well as the standards and integration constraints. To this scope, the stakeholder analysis activity will be carried out by Day One, who will involve all the Value chain partners.

The product value chain, in its simplified version, is made of raw material suppliers, Piemacs, system integrators and their end-customers, which will be approached using an Open Innovation approach. As soon as the key requirements and specifications are collected, Piemacs will take care of developing a lab-scale prototype to validate the performance of the solution against the metrics set by the stakeholders. This will allow to identify the first application scenario for the DIGITUS ultrasonic sensor.

Once the system is validated at laboratory stage, the following step will see Piemacs and Day One involved to define the go-to-market strategy. The objective is to have a technology validated in a relevant environment (TRL 5) by the end of the project, which will pave the way to the industrialisation strategy. The clear vision is to scale-up Piemacs’business as well as to generate new know-how and IP.

LEARN MORE.

THE PROJECT CONSORTIUM.

Day One (Italy) is a Startup Studio, whose mission is to transfer to the industrial world the most promising technologies developed by research centers, universities, and start-ups through a continuous interaction with industrial end-users.

Day One’s vision of the technology transfer process is quite original: rather than passively pushing the technology towards its intended market, the idea is to identify a range of possible applications for the technology, involving in the discussion relevant stakeholders, market experts, scientists, and even common people.

Once the product-market fit is defined, cyclic interactions are fostered between scientists, the industrial supply chain, and end users.

Day One is currently following around 100 new technologies, has accelerated 40 startups raising more than 50M€ of public and investor funding, and has a staff of 15 people, including experienced project managers, as well as technology and market specialists.

PIEMACS (Switzerland) is a company located at EPFL innovation park, Lausanne, Switzerland. Piemacs provides expertise, know how, prototype fabrication and characterization services in the field of Piezoelectric MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems). These are essential ingredients for new sensors and transducers of the industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IOT). The mission of PIEMACS is to provide innovative solutions for piezoelectric MEMS engineering services through short and long-term contracts centred on excellent scientific consulting and fast engineering prototyping. No other firms in this domain can offer such a complete package at the highest level.

Thanks to the great network that PIEMACS has developed in the past years, we have targeted a product to enter the market as a component provider. The project idea is to develop a novel Piezoelectric Micro-Machined Ultrasound Transducer (pMUT) for biometric applications.

CONTACTS.

Paolo de Stefanis

Day One

Business Strategist

Robin Nigon

Piemacs

Technical Manager

Paolo de Stefanis

Day One

Business Strategist

Robin Nigon

Piemacs

Technical Manager

DIGITUS

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Grant agreement ID: 946048
More information here.