Shipments of fingerprint-on-display (FoD) sensors grew 674% last year as FoDs replace silicon-based capacitive chips in smartphones, reports Omdia.

A total of 228.3 million FoD sensors were shipped in 2019, compared to 29.5 million in 2018, said Omdia.

FoD shipments are expected to top 400 million units this year.

Besides Apple, most smartphone brands have adopted FoD as an advanced biometric identification technology to replace capacitive fingerprint chips. More than 70 smartphone models integrated FoD in 2019.

FoD can offer the same type of user experience of fingerprint recognition experience as capacitive chips, without requiring any learning.

The invisibility of FoD also gives smartphone makers the freedom to offer a handset design absent of any notches.

FoD technologies are mature and affordable, so the average selling price of a fingerprint module ASP can be as low as about $3 to $4, which is more cost-effective than alternative 3D facial recognition technologies.

Major FoD technologies include optical imaging CMOS image sensor (CIS) and ultrasonic echoing solutions.

Samsung adopted Qualcomm’s ultrasonic solution for the Galaxy S10, S20 and Note 10 series, but opted to use EgisTec’s optical imaging CIS solution on the Galaxy A series.

Goodix is the leading FoD supplier with a 50% market share.

Optical imaging CIS solutions accounted for a 79% shipment share of the FoD market, while the ultrasonic approach held 21% of the market in 2019.

Due to growing market demand and more suppliers entering the business, Omdia estimates the optical imaging CIS solutions will grab an 88% share of shipments in 2020.

FoD solution providers are also offering thinner microlens types of FoD solutions, which can reduce space usage to make room for more battery capacity inside of smartphones.