Osram First to Market with LED for Unlocking Smartphones

Osram is making smartphones even smarter: infrared light emitting diodes (IREDs) from Osram Opto Semiconductors will enable owners of Fujitsu Limited’s Arrows NX F-04G smartphone to unlock the device with an iris scan. This smartphone, which is currently only available in Japan, is the first in the world with this functionality.

Secure methods for unlocking cell phones and tablet computers are gaining in importance because these devices are being used more and more for sensitive applications such as online banking and online shopping. In addition to fingerprint scans, many manufacturers are now considering iris scanning. This new biometric unlocking method involves illuminating the eye with infrared light. The camera on the smartphone simultaneously takes a picture of the iris in which characteristic features are then identified. So far, the Osram IREDs are the only ones capable of the high power needed for iris scanning from a compact package.

The Oslux SFH 4780S has a wavelength of 810 nanometers (nm). This enables the iris scanner to identify iris patterns for all eye colors – brown, blue, green and gray – with a high degree of reliability. The light source is also extremely efficient so does not involve an unnecessary drain on mobile device batteries. For having developed the IRED, Osram Opto Semiconductors was recently presented with the 2015 Kaiser Friedrich Research Award.