Sonavation

   Innovating ID^TM

The patented SonicTouch^TM technology used in Sonavation’s SonicSlide^TM sensors works very much like the ultrasound technology used in medical applications.  The ridges and valleys of the fingerprint are acoustically measured to image the fingerprint in 256 shades of gray in order to discern the slightest fingerprint detail. This ensures a level of accuracy that has not been achieved by other fingerprint swipe sensor technologies, including semiconductor-based solutions.

The key imaging component of the sensor is the ceramic Micro-Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) piezoelectric transducer array that is made from a ceramic composite material. When this piezoelectric material is formed into a pillar 1/10^th the diameter of a human hair, it has a unique set of properties that enable it to mechanically oscillate when an electric field is applied or create an electrical voltage when mechanically vibrated. The piezoelectric pillar is electrically vibrated at its natural ultrasonic resonant frequency. If a fingerprint ridge is directly above the pillar, much of the ultrasonic energy is absorbed by the skin and the signal impedance of the pillar is very high. If a valley is directly above the pillar, very little energy is absorbed and the impedance is very low. By arranging the pillars in a matrix of several thousand elements a two-dimensional image of a fingerprint can be created. The imaging ASIC electrically controls the pillar oscillation, imaging of the fingerprint and data management of the fingerprint information.

The ultrasonic sounding within the finger structure can provide additional biometric features such as bone and vein structure. Utilizing ultrasound Doppler imaging, blood flow, and heart pulse, other biometric identity information can be obtained, including “Proof of Life.” 

Ideal for the Mobile Phone, PC, Identity Management and Access Control markets, Sonavation's SonicSlide^TM sensors are the world’s thinnest fingerprint swipe sensors.