Optical - Silicon - Ultrasound Fingerprint Technologies

Acquiring high-quality images of distinctive fingerprint ridges and minutiae is a complicated task. The fingerprint is a small area from which to take measurements, and the wear of daily life affects which ridge patterns show most prominently. Increasingly sophisticated mechanisms have been developed to capture the fingerprint image with sufficient detail and resolution. The technologies in use today are optical, silicon, and ultrasound.

Optical technology is the oldest and most widely used. The finger is placed on a coated platen, usually built of hard plastic but proprietary to each company. In most devices, a charged coupled device (CCD) converts the image of the fingerprint, with dark ridges and light valleys, into a digital signal. The brightness is either adjusted automatically (preferable) or manually (difficult), leading to a usable image.

 

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The most comprehensive and up-to-date information on finger-scan technology - the market, technology and applications - can be found in IBG's authoritative report on the "State of Fingerprint Technology."