For many of us, working on mobile devices and laptops is part of our everyday business life. While facial recognition on smartphones and tablets is already widely used to protect sensitive data, our portable computers are often still only password-protected. Two new infrared LEDs (IREDs) from ams Osram now not only enable user identification via facial recognition in laptops, but also allow particularly slim display designs thanks to their extremely compact dimensions. Similar to smartphones, laptop manufacturers are also working on displays with ever narrower bezzels. As a result, components such as webcam that include lighting, can take up less and less space – a clear advantage for miniaturized components such as the SFH 4171S and SFH 4181S.

"With the help of our two new infrared LEDs, we are simplifying the integration of security applications in laptops and giving manufacturers new design options for future models," said Bianka Schnabel, Product Manager at ams Osram. Unlocking laptops via biometric identification eliminates the need to enter passwords and ensures that users can quickly and easily access their laptops after a break. The two IREDs were developed specifically for 2D facial recognition systems. Here, the user’s face is illuminated with an infrared light source, an infrared camera records the image, and if the captured image matches the one stored in the system, the device is unlocked. In this case, the security system pays attention to two-dimensional features of the user, such as the distance between the eyes and the length of the bridge of the nose.

ams Osram offers the IREDs in two wavelengths – 850 nanometers (SFH 4171S) and a 940 nanometer version (SFH 4181S). With the SFH 4171S, the customer benefits from the high sensitivity of the infrared cameras in this range. The SFH 4181S avoids the so-called "red glow," which the human eye perceives as red flickering. Both products are installed in the extremely compact Oslon P1616 package. Even with a lens, the product requires very little installation space, measuring only 1.6 mm x 1.6 mm x 1.71 mm. Despite their small size, the two IREDs deliver an outstanding optical power of 1150 mW at 1 ampere and a beam intensity of 680 mW/sr. The special primary optics bundle the light at a beam angle of 35°, improving performance values and making it easier for the infrared camera to take high-quality images.

Further information about biometric identification can be found on our website.