Sensor supplier ams AG announced that its low-power IR vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) emitter, the PMSIL, is enabling the world’s first implementation of user face recognition in a smartphone based on the Android platform. “Xiaomi is a stand-out performer in the Chinese smartphone market and, increasingly, globally because of its bold and innovative design approach and its ability to implement advanced technologies in beautiful, sleek phones,” said Hui Nie, general manager for the VCSEL product line at ams. “To fit the slim, bezel-less design of the Mi8 Explorer Edition, Xiaomi’s designers wanted to build the smallest possible face recognition system, which led them to evaluate the ams IR VCSEL arrays.” The Mi8 Explorer Edition, the new flagship smartphone from the fast-growing Chinese brand Xiaomi, includes a face recognition system. The PMSIL is a complete VCSEL flood illuminator system with integrated eye-safety interlock, offering very high optical efficiency and minimizing the drain on the phone’s battery when emitting. The system incorporates the emitter die and a diffuser in its compact package. It features high spectral stability over temperature and a narrow spectral width of <1 nm. Its engineered beam profile can be precisely configured to the needs of specific smartphone applications.