Fujitsu Microelectronics America has introduced the latest member of its fingerprint sensor IC technology, the Fujitsu MBF320 Sweep Sensor. The new MBF320 features TrustedCore pre-boot authentication (PBA), fingerprint-matching algorithms and biometric software from Cogent Systems, and a USB 2.0 full-speed interface.

The MBF320 with support for TrustedCore PBA was developed by Fujitsu Microelectronics in close collaboration with Phoenix, which provided its BioTrust ID enrollment application and TrustedCore PBA Software Development Kit.

The MBF320 with pre-boot authentication is the latest in Fujitsu's series of low-power, cost-efficient fingerprint verification systems. In 2002, the company launched the MBF300 Sweep Sensor, the first sweep sensor built using the company's solid-state sensor technology. In 2003, Fujitsu introduced the MBF310 in a much smaller package, which was designed into the JumpDrive TouchGuard USB Flash Drive from Lexar Media.

"The added layer of security in the MBF320 Sweep Sensor, provided by pre-boot authentication, represents a significant move forward in the technology," according to Keith Horn, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Fujitsu Microelectronics America.

The MBF320 incorporates Phoenix Technologies' BioTrust ID, an application for enrollment of fingerprints and sharing of credentials from Pre-Boot to Windows. The application provides Pre-Boot Authentication (PBA) and re-authentication at the BIOS level and again at the operating system level. The PBA Software Development Kit includes a Phoenix-compatible, Cogent matching-engine-reference implementation, enabling the trusted computing platform.