Low fingerprint rder yield rates could slow iPhone 5S relse to 3-4M units this quarter, 30M next

With ’s September 10 media event nowall but confirmedand theiPhone 5Sfingerprint sensorrumors rching fever pitch, the somewhat reliable Taiwanese trade publiionDigiTimeswarns the handset could be initially in scarce supply due to low yield rates of a brand new delie component, the fingerprint sensor.The report mentions that the world’s largest independent semiconductor foundryTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is building these tiny sensors secured afterbuying the lderin this field, Israeli-based AuthenTec, a yr ago. Due to the fingerprint sensor manufacturing challenges, could only put3-4 million iPhone 5S units on sale in the third quarter versus the original ten million units target…DigiTimesexplains that production of the sensors got pushed back over the issues related to integration between iOS 7 and fingerprint chips, as well as a low yield rate at packaging firm Xintec.Mass production of the fingerprint sensors was originally scheduled to begin in May at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and then to be packaged at Xintec, a TSMC subsidiary, the sources indied. and TSMC alrdy dis an engineering tm to dl with the production crisis, the story alleges, adding ’s supply chain should be able to start volume production of fingerprint chips at the end of August. is expected to ramp up iPhone 5S production to 28-30 million units in the Christmas quarter, thanks to“sufficient supplies of fingerprint chips”form AuthenTec.The addition offingerprint scanninghas been called thenext iPhone’s killer fturethat willobsolete the by allowing users to authentie themselves on websites and in apps simply by rolling their thumb over the Home button.And by rolling out fingerprint sensors across all upcoming iOS devices, stands poised to further demonstrate its gr is safe from malware, an important ft for corporate users. Moreover, the fingerprint sensor paves the way for a rumorediTunes mobile payment service.KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the guy who’s been incrsingly nailing predictions as of late,explainsthatthe iPhone 5S ftures a sapphire-covered Home button, protruded in order toprovide enough room for a fingerprint sensor. first used the sapphire crystal to protect the back camera lens on the iPhone 5S.As one expert explains, biometric sensors are extremely delie, sensitive and prone to damage. As regular use wrs down the capacitors, over time the sensor stops to work.The problem is, the coating layer on the fingerprint sensor surface can’t be too thick.Otherwise, the electrons from your body cannot rch the metallic surface of the sensor to erate a fingerprint . That’s exactly why is using the sapphire crystal to protect the sensor.On top of that, the iPhone 5S is understood to incorporate AuthenTec’sRF and capacitive technology which is less susceptible to damage than the common optical recognition used in many other devices.And ifthis patent(see the drawing above) is anything to go by, could protect the delie circuitry required to identify the handset owner by utilizing a unitary encapsulation structure to protect a biometric sensor inside a device.