Abstract: An elongated biometric device provides a slim solution for capturing biometric data, and may be placed on a portion of an electronic device having limited space, such as a side of the electronic device. The elongated biometric device may include a force sensor, which may be positioned within a housing of the electronic device and actuated through posts extending from the elongated biometric device through the housing to transfer an applied force to the force sensor.

Abstract: An acoustic imaging system coupled to a sensing plate to define an imaging surface. The acoustic imaging system includes an array of piezoelectric acoustic transducers coupled to the sensing plate opposite the imaging surface and formed using a thin-film manufacturing process over an application-specific integrated circuit that, in turn, is configured to leverage the array of piezoelectric actuators to generate an image of an object at least partially wetting to the imaging surface.

Abstract: An acoustic imaging system includes multiple transducers disposed to circumscribe a portion of substrate. An acoustic imaging system also includes a controller and an image resolver. The transducers convert electrical signals into mechanical energy and/or mechanical energy into electrical signals. The controller is adapted to apply an electrical signal to the transducers which, in response, induce a mechanical wave, such as a surface wave, into the circumscribed portion. The controller is also adapted to receive electrical signals from the transducers. The image resolver uses the electrical signals received by the controller in order to construct an image of an object in physical contact with the substrate.

Abstract: An apparatus for fingerprint sensing includes a touch-display layer covered by a transparent layer. The touch-display layer can emit light to illuminate a finger surface touching the transparent layer. The touch-display layer is transparent to reflected light from the surface to underlying layers. The underlying layers include a collimator layer and a pixelated image sensor. The collimator layer can collimate the reflected light, and the pixelated image sensor can sense the collimated reflected light. The collimator can collimate the reflected light to enable a one-to-one imaging ratio between an area of the finger surface touching the transparent layer and an area of a corresponding image formed on the pixelated image sensor.

Abstract: An elongated biometric device provides a slim solution for capturing biometric data, and may be placed on a portion of an electronic device having limited space, such as a side of the electronic device. The elongated biometric device may include a force sensor, which may be positioned within a housing of the electronic device and actuated through posts extending from the elongated biometric device through the housing to transfer an applied force to the force sensor.

Abstract: Acoustic touch and/or force sensing system architectures and methods for acoustic touch and/or force sensing can be used to detect a position of an object touching a surface and an amount of force applied to the surface by the object. The position and/or an applied force can be determined using time-of-flight (TOF) techniques, for example. Acoustic touch sensing can utilize transducers (e.g., piezoelectric) to simultaneously transmit ultrasonic waves along a surface and through a thickness of a deformable material. The location of the object and the applied force can be determined based on the amount of time elapsing between the transmission of the waves and receipt of the reflected waves. In some examples, an acoustic touch sensing system can be insensitive to water contact on the device surface, and thus acoustic touch sensing can be used for touch sensing in devices that may become wet or fully submerged in water.

Abstract: A biometric input system for an electronic device is provided. The biometric input system may be a fingerprint sensing system. The biometric input system includes a biometric sensing component, which may be a capacitive sensing component. The biometric input system also includes a composite cover element, which may be a dielectric cap or coating, and the biometric sensing component is capable of receiving a biometric input from a user through the composite cover element. Electronic devices including the biometric input system are also provided.

Abstract: Acoustic touch and/or force sensing system architectures and methods for acoustic touch and/or force sensing can be used to detect a position of an object touching a surface and an amount of force applied to the surface by the object. The position and/or an applied force can be determined using time-of-flight (TOF) techniques, for example. Acoustic touch sensing can utilize transducers (e.g., piezoelectric) to simultaneously transmit ultrasonic waves along a surface and through a thickness of a deformable material. The location of the object and the applied force can be determined based on the amount of time elapsing between the transmission of the waves and receipt of the reflected waves. In some examples, an acoustic touch sensing system can be insensitive to water contact on the device surface, and thus acoustic touch sensing can be used for touch sensing in devices that may become wet or fully submerged in water.

Abstract: An electronic device may have an optical touch sensor that is insensitive to the presence of moisture. The display may present images through a display cover layer. A light source may illuminate an external object such as a user's finger when the object contacts a surface of the display cover layer. This creates scattered light that may be detected by an array of light sensors. A metasurface grating may be used to couple light from the light source into the display cover layer at an angle such that total internal reflection within the display cover layer is sustained across the display cover layer even when the display cover layer is immersed in water or otherwise exposed to moisture. Additional metasurface gratings may be formed on the display cover layer to redirect light propagating within the display cover layer away from edges that might otherwise defeat total internal reflection.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are electronic devices having touch input surfaces. A user's touch input or press on the touch input surface is detected using a set of lasers, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that emit beams of light toward the touch input surface. The user's touch causes changes in the self-mixing interference within the VCSEL of the emitted light with reflected light, such as from the touch input surface. Deflection and movement (e.g., drag motion) of the user's touch is determined from detected changes in the VCSELs' operation due to the self-mixing interference.

Abstract: An acoustic imaging system coupled to an acoustic medium to define an imaging surface. The acoustic imaging system includes an array of piezoelectric acoustic transducers formed at least in part from a thin-film piezoelectric material, such as PVDF. The array is coupled to the acoustic medium opposite the imaging surface and formed using a thin-film manufacturing process over an application-specific integrated circuit that, in turn, is configured to leverage on or more beamforming scan operations to drive the array of piezoelectric actuators to generate an image of an object at least partially wetting to the imaging surface.

Abstract: Acoustic touch and/or force sensing system architectures and methods for acoustic touch and/or force sensing can be used to detect a position of an object touching a surface and an amount of force applied to the surface by the object. The position and/or an applied force can be determined using time-of-flight (TOF) techniques, for example. Acoustic touch sensing can utilize transducers (e.g., piezoelectric) to simultaneously transmit ultrasonic waves along a surface and through a thickness of a deformable material. The location of the object and the applied force can be determined based on the amount of time elapsing between the transmission of the waves and receipt of the reflected waves. In some examples, an acoustic touch sensing system can be insensitive to water contact on the device surface, and thus acoustic touch sensing can be used for touch sensing in devices that may become wet or fully submerged in water.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are electronic devices having touch input surfaces. A user's touch input or press on the touch input surface is detected using a set of lasers, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that emit beams of light toward the touch input surface. The user's touch causes changes in the self-mixing interference within the VCSEL of the emitted light with reflected light, such as from the touch input surface. Deflection and movement (e.g., drag motion) of the user's touch is determined from detected changes in the VCSELs' operation due to the self-mixing interference.

Abstract: Systems and methods for through-display imaging. An optical imaging sensor is positioned at least partially behind a display and is configured to emit shortwave infrared light at least partially through the display to illuminate an object, such as a fingerprint, in contact with an outer surface of the display. Surface reflections from the object are received and an image of the object can be assembled.

Abstract: An electronic device may have an optical touch sensor that is insensitive to the presence of moisture. The display may present images through a display cover layer. A light source may illuminate an external object such as a user's finger when the object contacts a surface of the display cover layer. This creates scattered light that may be detected by an array of light sensors. A metasurface grating may be used to couple light from the light source into the display cover layer at an angle such that total internal reflection within the display cover layer is sustained across the display cover layer even when the display cover layer is immersed in water or otherwise exposed to moisture. Additional metasurface gratings may be formed on the display cover layer to redirect light propagating within the display cover layer away from edges that might otherwise defeat total internal reflection.

Abstract: An electronic device may include a display layer including light transmissive portions and non-transmissive portions. The electronic device may also include a palm biometric image sensor layer beneath the display layer and configured to sense an image of a user's palm positioned above the display layer based upon light reflected from the user's palm passing through the light transmissive portions of the display layer. The electronic device may further include a controller configured to capture image data from the user's palm in cooperation with the palm biometric image sensor layer and determine a surface distortion of the user's palm based upon the image data. The controller may also be configured to perform a biometric authentication of the user's palm based upon the image data and the surface distortion.

Abstract: An acoustic imaging system coupled to an acoustic medium to define an imaging surface. The acoustic imaging system includes an array of piezoelectric acoustic transducers formed at least in part from a thin-film piezoelectric material, such as PVDF. The array is coupled to the acoustic medium opposite the imaging surface and formed using a thin-film manufacturing process over an application-specific integrated circuit that, in turn, is configured to leverage on or more beamforming scan operations to drive the array of piezoelectric actuators to generate an image of an object at least partially wetting to the imaging surface.

Abstract: Acoustic touch detection (touch sensing) system architectures and methods can be used to detect an object touching a surface. Position of an object touching a surface can be determined using time-of-flight (TOF) bounding box techniques, or acoustic image reconstruction techniques. Acoustic touch sensing can utilize transducers, such as piezoelectric transducers, to transmit ultrasonic waves along a surface and/or through the thickness of an electronic device. Location of the object can be determined, for example, based on the amount of time elapsing between the transmission of the wave and the detection of the reflected wave. An object in contact with the surface can interact with the transmitted wave causing attenuation, redirection and/or reflection of at least a portion of the transmitted wave. Portions of the transmitted wave energy after interaction with the object can be measured to determine the touch location of the object on the surface of the device.

Abstract: An acoustic imaging system coupled to an acoustic medium to define an imaging surface. The acoustic imaging system includes an array of piezoelectric acoustic transducers formed at least in part from a thin-film piezoelectric material, such as PVDF. The array is coupled to the acoustic medium opposite the imaging surface and formed using a thin-film manufacturing process over an application-specific integrated circuit that, in turn, is configured to leverage the array of piezoelectric actuators to generate an image of an object at least partially wetting to the imaging surface.

Abstract: An acoustic imaging system coupled to an acoustic imaging medium to define an imaging surface. The acoustic imaging system includes an array of piezoelectric acoustic transducers formed at least in part from a thin-film piezoelectric material, such as PVDF. The array is coupled to the acoustic imaging medium opposite the imaging surface and formed using a thin-film manufacturing process over an application-specific integrated circuit that, in turn, is configured to leverage the array of piezoelectric actuators to generate an image of an object at least partially wetting to the imaging surface.