EU project to advance fingerprint detection technology
A consortium of European researchers has been given funding from the EC to create advanced sensor technology that can pick up even the smallest features of human fingerprints.
The three-year, €2.9million PIEZOMAT project involves researchers from France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania and Hungary.
The aim is to create a fingerprint sensor with resolutions beyond today's 500dpi standard.
The researchers are looking to integrate and interconnect a large number of piezoelectric elements on a single chip.
These elements will be made of vertical zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires grown directly onto a network of interconnected electrodes, manufactured via microelectronics processing.
The technology will combine innovative manufacturing processes for the nanowire patterning, growth and encapsulation, along with multi-physics-model-supported design and dedicated characterisation and test infrastructures.
Funding has been provided as part of the EC's Seventh Framework Program (FP7) for research and technological development.
Image courtesy of Fraunhofer SIT.
