Qualcomm and BOE will cooperate to develop 3D Sonic sensor display products

On April 15, BOE and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (Qualcomm) announced that they will launch a strategic cooperation to develop innovative display products integrating Qualcomm® 3D Sonic ultrasonic fingerprint sensors. The two parties will combine their technical advantages and industry resources to cooperate closely in key technical fields such as sensors, antennas, and display screen processing to bring more high-value-added innovative display products and solutions to users around the world.

BOE and Qualcomm are looking forward to the cooperation between the two parties. By integrating differentiated functions such as Qualcomm 3D Sonic ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the BOE (BOE) flexible AMOLED display, it will bring customers an integrated ultra-thin fingerprint recognition solution and create an efficient supply chain system. This solution also greatly improves the security and reliability of fingerprint recognition, and has a broad application space in the field of mobile terminals such as smart phones. At present, BOE (BOE) flexible display has been widely used in the world's first-line mobile phone brands. Both parties jointly launched innovative display products integrating Qualcomm 3D Sonic fingerprint sensors, which will further help terminal brands to launch differentiated products. At the same time, the cooperation between the two parties will also cover smartphones and 5G related technologies, and is expected to expand into the fields of XR (extended reality) and the Internet of Things.

According to CINNO Research's monthly under-screen fingerprint market report data, global shipments of under-screen fingerprint mobile phones in 2019 were approximately 200 million units, a year-on-year increase of 614%. In addition to Samsung and Apple, fingerprints under the screen of other brands of OLED mobile phones have become standard, with a penetration rate of more than 90%. It is estimated that by 2024, the overall under-screen fingerprint mobile phone shipments will reach 1.18 billion units, with a CAGR of 42.5%.

Gao Wenbao, executive vice president of BOE and chief executive officer of the display and sensor business group, said: "As a global leader in semiconductor display, BOE has always upheld the IoT ecological concept of 'opening both ends of the core screen / device and' , To provide users with better smart port devices and solutions. In the second half of 2020, BOE (BOE) OLED flexible display and Qualcomm 3D Sonic ultrasonic fingerprint integrated solutions are planned for mass production and shipment. "

Chen Ruowen, senior vice president and chief operating officer of QCT at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., said: "Qualcomm Technologies has always been committed to expanding its cooperation with China, and the cooperation with BOE (BOE) is another example of our rooted China and ecosystem innovation. The cooperation between the two parties The launch of OLED display products integrated with Qualcomm 3D Sonic fingerprint sensor technology will enable OEM companies to more easily design and develop cutting-edge products. We look forward to further strengthening innovation cooperation with BOE in the fields of 5G, XR and Internet of Things. "

The fingerprint under the ultrasonic screen is currently only Qualcomm's one with actual commercial capabilities, monopolizing the market, mainly for Samsung. In 2019, Qualcomm's ultrasonic off-screen fingerprint chip solution shipped about 50 million pieces, accounting for about 25% of the global under-screen fingerprint chip solution market share.

The fingerprint under the ultrasonic screen has some obvious advantages over optics in principle. Ultrasound can penetrate the epidermis layer and detect the fingerprint image of the dermis layer, so it can identify the living body, which is theoretically more secure, and is not susceptible to stains or strong light interference, and because there is no need to consider the design of the optical path, the thickness of the module can be achieved very thin. But the disadvantages are also obvious. Ultrasonic waves cannot pass through the vacuum, and it is difficult to pass through the multi-layer solid / air interface. Too thick glass will reduce the identification effect, so it must be attached to the screen, and only supports thin film encapsulated flexible OLED panels. It is also very high for mobile phone films. Requirements. At the same time, the cost of the sensing layer made of piezoelectric material is also higher than that of the optical fingerprint CMOS sensor, so the overall cost is significantly higher than the fingerprint under the optical screen, and it is only used on the Samsung Galaxy S and Note series flagship models.

In addition to technical principles, the maturity of the industry chain is also crucial. There are many fingerprint manufacturers and customers under the optical screen, the technology is relatively mature, and the industry chain is well-equipped. Although the fingerprint under the ultrasonic screen is more advanced in principle, due to the completeness of the industrial chain, it cannot match the optics. In actual applications, security vulnerabilities have occurred due to software factors in 2019, forcing a large number of apps to temporarily shut down Samsung Galaxy S10, Note10 and other machines. Type fingerprint payment function until Samsung software fixes the problem. Although this incident was finally resolved, it still dampened the enthusiasm of other manufacturers to adopt ultrasound. However, this year Samsung still adopted the ultrasound solution on the Galaxy S20, indicating its attitude to jointly promote the fingerprint under the ultrasound screen with Qualcomm.

If Apple plans to use off-screen fingerprints in the future, it is likely to use the ultrasonic solution based on Samsung's supply relationship. Samsung may also rely on cost reduction to gradually penetrate ultrasonic fingerprints into the middle and high-end. At the same time, Sili Micro, a subsidiary of Zhaoyi Innovation, is also conducting related developments, and may launch its own ultrasound solutions in the future.