Metalenz and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) have announced that Polar ID, a polarization-based face authentication solution developed by Metalenz, has entered mass production at UMC’s 300-millimeter semiconductor facilities.
The milestone marks the first time Metalenz’s metasurface technology has been directly integrated onto image sensors at the foundry level, a development the companies say will advance the scalability of machine vision and artificial intelligence applications.
Payment-Grade Security at Lower Cost
Polar ID uses Metalenz’s polarization-sensitive meta-optics and proprietary algorithms to extract material and contour data from a single image, enabling secure face authentication in compact form factors. The technology aims to deliver payment-grade biometric security at lower cost and complexity compared to traditional 3D face unlock systems.
UMC manufactures the meta-optic layer using its forty-nanometer process and wafer-on-wafer bonding technology. The foundry’s large-scale 12-inch production capabilities are expected to allow rapid ramp-up to meet demand from smartphone, consumer electronics, and Internet of Things device manufacturers.
“By combining our metasurface innovation with UMC’s manufacturing scale and process maturity, Polar ID is ready to meet the demands of high-volume consumer electronics,” said Rob Devlin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Metalenz. “The technology brings secure, affordable face authentication to billions of devices and enables advanced sensing in form factors where it wasn’t previously possible.”
Foundry-Level Integration
Steven Hsu, Vice President of Technology Development at UMC, said the partnership extends the company’s manufacturing portfolio into sensor-integrated metasurfaces. “This collaboration will enable UMC to play a pioneering role in delivering this disruptive imaging technology to market,” he said.
Metalenz’s metasurface optics, which replace conventional lens stacks with nanostructured patterns, have already been deployed in more than 140 million consumer devices. The company says integrating optics directly within semiconductor processes paves the way for smaller, more efficient 3D sensing and machine vision systems.
UMC operates twelve fabrication plants globally with a combined capacity of more than 400,000 wafers per month. The company said its collaboration with Metalenz, which began in 2021, underscores its commitment to enabling next-generation imaging technologies for consumer and industrial applications.
—
By the ID Tech Editorial Team
