Touch Biometrix Partners with SystematIC Ahead of Release of First Fingerprint Module

SystematIC will be manufacturing the read out Integrated Circuit (ROIC) for the first commercial product from Touch Biometrix. Touch is a Welsh fingerprint sensor start-up that was founded in 2018, and is planning to bring its first sensor to market in November of 2021.

The IC was designed in-house at Touch, and is optimized for use in the company’s upcoming line of ultra-thin capacitive fingerprint sensors. However, Touch is a fabless technology developer, and therefore needed a production partner to produce the ICs themselves.

That’s where SystematIC will come into play. The company will deliver the ICs, and Touch will deploy them in a wide area FAP60 module alongside 3D image sensors with 500 pixels-per-inch resolution. The module will be part of Touch’s TCAP (Transistor CAPacitance) portfolio, which combines thin-film transistors with glass or plastic to create modules with a thinner form factor and a lower cost than competing devices.

The SystematIC partnership will advance Touch’s broader go-to-market strategy beyond the release of the initial FAP60 module. Touch is already working on an in-display sensor that would allow people to use any part of the screen to scan a fingerprint. The full screen system is designed for smartphones, and is intended to replace more localised ultrasonic and optical options that force users to place their finger on one specific part of the device.

“We are delighted to have been selected by Touch Biometrix to deliver their first bespoke ROIC based on intellectual property they have developed over the last 2 years,” said SystematIC CEO Richard Visee. “The sensor technology is truly unique and we expect it to dominate the fingerprint biometric market in the coming years.”

Touch noted that the FAP60 market is relatively small, but there is a strong niche demand that will allow the company to use the module as a springboard for the rest of its portfolio. The company brought in £2 million (US$2.6 million) in Venture Capital funding back in April of 2019.

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July 5, 2021 – by Eric Weiss