Isorg and Sumitomo Chemical partner to develop organic photodetectors

Isorg, a developer of organic photodetectors and large-area image sensors, and Sumitomo Chemical, a provider of OPD materials production and other fields, have agreed a partnership to develop new OPD products for use as smartphone fingerprint sensors and hybrid organic CMOS image sensors.

This agreement expands the existing collaboration between Sumitomo Chemical and Isorg that began in 2013.

Isorg will license its technology processes to its OEMs, while Sumitomo Chemical will manufacture the dedicated organic semiconductor material, as well as support Isorg in terms of production technology and marketing.

This collaboration aims to provide OEMs with materials and technology processing solutions that will enable them to bring to market products using high-performance, high-quality fingerprint and CMOS image sensors.

The fingerprint sensors can be incorporated beneath the entirety of a smartphone display, allowing fingerprint recognition from any point or position on that display.

The hybrid organic CMOS image sensors are intended for use in cameras, including those designed for near-infrared capabilities.

Sumitomo Chemical and Isorg anticipate that these sensors will meet the performance and quality standards necessary for application in the security, automotive, diagnostics and consumer electronics markets.

Hiroshi Ueda, executive vice president at Sumitomo Chemical, says: “Partnering with Isorg will allow us to fill a void in the market for difficult-to-manufacture, but affordable, full-size fingerprint and CMOS image sensors that are suitable for demanding applications in smartphone displays and hybrid visible and near infrared cameras.

“Sumitomo Chemical is leveraging its materials platform to seize new opportunities for growth in the imager arena.”

Jean-Yves Gomez, CEO and co-founder of Isorg, says: “Isorg is honored to collaborate with Sumitomo Chemical in providing OEMs with what we believe will be the leading solution for fingerprint sensors and hybrid organic CMOS image cameras, and which offer significant performance advantages.

“With the strong backing of Sumitomo Chemical, and its industrial leadership, global footprint and drive for excellence, Isorg’s customers will have added assurances in our ability to deliver quality products.

“We look forward to engaging with customers on the designs and applications of these products.”

Going forward, Sumitomo Chemical and Isorg will work jointly on commercialization of the products to promptly meet the needs of customers.