Fingerprint recognition refers to identification by comparing the minutiae feature points of different fingerprints. Fingerprint recognition technology involves many subjects such as image processing, pattern recognition, computer vision, mathematical morphology, wavelet analysis and so on. Since each person’s fingerprints are different, that is, between the ten fingers of the same person, there are obvious differences between fingerprints, so fingerprints can be used for identification.

At present, among the global fingerprint identification chip manufacturers, AuthenTec, FPC, Goodix, Synaptics and other major manufacturers occupy a leading position.

The United States AuthenTec is a leading supplier of fingerprint recognition sensors. AuthenTec has deep accumulation in fingerprint recognition technology and has a leading position in the industry. In July 2013, Apple acquired AuthenTec for US$356 million. After Apple acquired AuthenTec, AuthenTec rarely supplies other mobile phone manufacturers.

Compared with AuthenTec, which is "exclusively" by Apple, SynapTIcs has not won the favor of giants like Apple, but its strength is quite impressive. Many mobile phones of Samsung, Lenovo, ZTE and other brands use SynapTIcs' fingerprint recognition sensors.

The rapid rise of Swedish FPC in recent years has largely benefited from the huge orders from Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. In 2014, in order to implement the fingerprint recognition function on Mate7, Huawei chose FPC as the supplier to supply fingerprint recognition chips. After Huawei Mate7 became popular, many domestic mobile phone manufacturers followed up, not only imitating Mate7 in appearance, but also Equipped with FPC's fingerprint recognition chip, this makes FPC's business in China soar. In 2016, about 136 mobile phones adopted the FPC fingerprint recognition solution, and the market share of the Android mobile phone camp reached about 50%.

With domestic mobile phone manufacturers adding fingerprint recognition functions to their phones, domestic fingerprint recognition chip suppliers have ushered in great opportunities for development and are growing rapidly under the turmoil.

According to Goodix’s financial report for the first quarter of this year, Goodix’s revenue was 731 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90.21%, and its net profit reached 175 million, a year-on-year increase of 150.04%. In contrast, Swedish FPC’s revenue during the same period was 685.9 million Swedish kronor (equivalent to RMB 536 million), a 54% decrease from the same period last year, and its profit was 53.7 million Swedish kronor (equivalent to RMB 42 million), and its profit was down 88% year-on-year. .

In addition to Goodix, fingerprint identification companies such as Si Liwei, Xinqihang, Feengel have also squeezed into the battlefield. Due to the price war of many fingerprint identification companies and the further maturity of capacitive fingerprint identification technology, fingerprint identification chips are becoming cheaper and cheaper-in the case of capacitive fingerprint identification chips, the price of a chip was about US$4 two years ago In the first quarter of 2017, its average price dropped to US$2.56, and some chip makers’ quotations were even lower than US$2, and even lower than US$1.5. Presumably, FPC's performance has declined, and the past overlord's throne is unstable. In the first quarter of this year, Goodix's performance has been surpassed by Goodix Technology, which is largely due to the fierce price war among many fingerprint identification chip manufacturers.

It must be noted that the fingerprint identification chips of Chinese suppliers are not only widely used on thousand-yuan mobile phones, but also squeezed into the supply chain of mid-to-high-end Android phones. Many Chinese and Korean mobile phone brands have chosen Chinese suppliers. Fingerprint recognition chip.

At present, many mobile phones use back fingerprint recognition solutions, that is, the fingerprint recognition chip that has been used in many domestic mobile phones such as Huawei P series and Mate series is set on the back of the mobile phone.

According to market forecasts, the next generation of fingerprint recognition chips will be hidden under the mobile phone screen-fingerprint recognition chips are used in the screen. This in-display fingerprint recognition solution can greatly increase the screen-to-body ratio of mobile devices and not only make the phone more beautiful , Can also bring new user experience to users.

Although this technology is not yet mature, and the current mainstream mobile phone LCD panel thickness can not meet the requirements of this technology. But with the development of technology, everything is possible, especially the thinner characteristics of AMOLED screens than LCD screens, making fingerprint recognition technology in the display possible.

Based on this, Chinese companies are deploying fingerprint recognition technology in the display, and plan to achieve technological breakthroughs in 2018-2019 and apply it to mobile phones.

The rise of fingerprint recognition chips in China is not only due to the fact that related companies have accumulated technology over the years, but it also benefits from China’s developed mobile phone industry chain and powerful mobile phone manufacturers-precisely because there are mobile phone manufacturers to provide sources. Continuous orders have enabled Chinese fingerprint identification chip suppliers to withdraw R&D funds by selling products, realize self-hematopoiesis, and then invest the profits obtained in the research and development of next-generation products.

In this process, Chinese consumers have also benefited. In the past, the fingerprint recognition function that was only available on flagship mobile phones above 4000 and 5000 yuan, now also appears on thousands of yuan mobile phones, even at low prices. The second and third-line brand mobile phones also have fingerprint recognition capabilities. This enables consumers to enjoy relatively high-quality experience and services at a very low cost.

This article tags:The,rise,fingerprint,recognition,chips,China,chip,prices The last:The Application of Transistor The last:STMicroelectronics announces p