Electronic device including finger biometric sensor carried by a touch display and related methods

• US 9,582,102 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Setlak, Dale R.
• Primary Examiner(s): BALAOING, ARIEL A
• Application Number:
  US14/606,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20160216823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 763 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1312 direct reading, e.g. contactless acquisition

Abstract

An electronic device may include a touch display that includes at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels. The electronic device may also include a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display and that may include an interconnect layer that includes transparent conductive traces, and a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and that includes an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display. The finger biometric sensor may also include a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the transparent conductive traces.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and

a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display and comprising, in a stacked arrangement,

an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces,

a finger biometric sensing layer above the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display,

a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and

a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the finger biometric sensor extends over an entire upper surface of the touch display.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels.

4. The electronic device of claim 3 further comprising a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces has a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 further comprising a lower transparent dielectric layer between the touch display and the finger biometric sensor.

8. The electronic device of claim 7 wherein the lower transparent dielectric layer comprises glass.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO).

10. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO).

11. The electronic device of claim 1 further comprising a transparent dielectric cover layer over the finger biometric sensor.

12. An electronic device comprising:

a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels;

a finger biometric sensor extending over an entire surface of the touch display and comprising, in a stacked arrangement,

an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces,

a finger biometric sensing layer above the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display,

a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and

a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces; and

a transparent dielectric cover layer over the finger biometric sensor.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 further comprising a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

15. The electronic device of claim 12 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width.

16. The electronic device of claim 12 wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces has a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels.

17. The electronic device of claim 12 further comprising a lower transparent dielectric layer between the touch display and the finger biometric sensor.

18. A method of making an electronic device comprising:

forming a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and

forming a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display, forming the finger biometric sensor comprising forming, in a stacked arrangement,

an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces,

a finger biometric sensing layer above the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display,

a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and

a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the finger biometric sensor is formed to extend over an entire upper surface of the touch display.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising coupling a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein forming the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises forming at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels.

24. An electronic device comprising:

a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and

a finger biometric sensor carried by and extending over an entire upper surface of the touch display and comprising

an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces,

a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display,

a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and

a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

25. The electronic device of claim 24 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels.

26. The electronic device of claim 25 further comprising a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

27. The electronic device of claim 24 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width.

28. The electronic device of claim 24 wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces has a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels.

29. The electronic device of claim 24 further comprising a lower transparent dielectric layer between the touch display and the finger biometric sensor.

30. The electronic device of claim 29 wherein the lower transparent dielectric layer comprises glass.

31. The electronic device of claim 26 wherein the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO).

32. The electronic device of claim 26 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO).

33. The electronic device of claim 26 further comprising a transparent dielectric cover layer over the finger biometric sensor.

34. A method of making an electronic device comprising:

forming a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and

forming a finger biometric sensor carried by and to extend over an entire upper surface of the touch display, forming the finger biometric sensor comprising

forming an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces,

forming a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display,

forming a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and

forming a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising coupling a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein forming the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises forming at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width.

38. The method of claim 34 wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels.