A team of researchers from Polytechnique Montreal has developed a laser-written, light-guiding system that could offer greater security for mobile devices and the ability to track biometrics from the screen. This technology was applied to Gorilla Glass, a durable transparent material that exhibits high internal stress and low irregularity, which is used in billions of electronic devices.
The researchers used this technology to develop two different systems, one that includes a temperature sensor, and a system that authenticates a smartphone using infrared light. The use of this technology in Gorilla Glass allows waveguides to be smoother, and offers better protection to keep lighting from escaping. The team tested the system with a standard temperature sensor by heating the glass until it expanded, changing the path length of the straight and curved waveguides of the sensors. The result of this test showed that the system would be able to measure the temperature of anything that touches the device.
Read more how this technology could be used to embed computing devices into any glass surface.
