Sharp Microelectronics Announces Development of Smart Card with 1MB Flash Memory.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers CAMAS, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2003 New Smart Card Uses Advanced 0.18 um and Five Metal Process Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas today announced the development of Sharp's Smart Card with embedded 1MB Flash Memory. The new Smart Card uses Sharp's 0.18 um process and five metal connection process. Compared with the industry's use of 0.25 um process, Sharp's migration to a 0.18 um process demonstrates the company's leadership in developing high-density memory technology for Smart Cards Example of widely used contactless smart cards are Hong Kong's Octopus card, Paris' Calypso/Navigo card and Lisbon' LisboaViva card, which predate the ISO/IEC 14443 standard. The following tables list smart cards used for public transportation and other electronic purse applications. . Samples of the 1MB module will be available in December 2003, followed by the 512 kilobyte (thousand bytes). For technical specifications, it refers to 1,024 bytes. In general usage, it typically refers to an even one thousand bytes (see kilo). Also KB, Kbyte and K-byte. See space/time. (unit) kilobyte - (KB) 2^10 = 1024 bytes. See prefix. version in April 2004. Sharp previously developed a multi-application Smart Card with the highest density built-in memory and reduced cell size in the industry. The use of Smart Cards for multiple applications, such as e-passports, will increase in the Smart Card industry alongside the growth of single-application card programs, such as transportation, medical and corporate ID cards. Because its cell size is too large, traditional Smart Card chips composed of mask ROM (mask Read Only Memory) Refers to ROM chips. The term is used to differentiate static ROM chips from programmable ROM varieties (EPROM, EEPROM, flash ROM). See ROM. and EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power. Although EEPROMs spawned flash memory, EEPROMs are byte addressable at the write level, whereas flash chips must erase a block of bytes before rewriting. are not suitable for high-density memory on multi-application Smart Cards. In contrast, the internal 1MB memory capacity is specifically tailored to support multi-application operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. and expanded application sizes. The process reduction achieved with this new Smart Card results in a die size almost as small as traditional density EEPROM die size with more than double density. "We developed the new chip by leveraging our strength in process technology," said Robert Stuart For the explorer by the same name, see . Major Robert Stuart (c.1812 – June 17, 1901) was an officer of the British Army and veteran of the Crimean War. , Product Manager at Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas. "Scaling down the process and using multiple wiring layers allows a substantial reduction in chip size, lower power consumption and high-speed performance. This process also provides higher chip security by forming a protection layer over the die." Sharp is also planning to be certified to meet the internationally accepted IT security requirements known as Common Criteria (Common Criteria for Information Technology Security) An international standard process for defining security objectives and for evaluating compliance with those objectives. The Common Criteria have largely replaced the Trusted Computer Security Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC), the Canadian and is planning to meet the needs of the market by implementing GlobalPlatform, which is suitable for using multi-applications on one card. Features of the new 1MB Flash Memory Smart Card include: -- New process for Smart Card LSI LSI: see integrated circuit. (Large Scale Integration) Between 3,000 and 100,000 transistors on a chip. See SSI, MSI, VLSI and ULSI. , at 0.18 um embedded Flash memory; -- High security with the protection layers using five metal wiring; -- More than double density in same die size as compared to the traditionally structured LSI; -- Low noise and a 20 percent decrease in power consumption with low voltage Low voltage is an electrical engineering term that broadly identifies safety considerations of an electricity supply system based on the voltage used. While different definitions exist for the exact voltage range covered by "low voltage", the most commonly used ones include "mains .
Item Specification
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU 16 bit Sharp original
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory ROM 8 kilobytes
------------------------------------------------------------
RAM 8 kilobytes
------------------------------------------------------------
Flash 1024 kilobytes
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Coprocessor RSA/ECC accelerator
DES encryption circuit
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Security function Countermeasure for SPA/DPA
Variable sensors (voltage supply, clock
frequency)
Detect malfunction, and shielding
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Input clock frequency 1-5 MHz
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Form of shipment Card (ID-1, ID-3), module
----------------------------------------------------------------------
About Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas, Camas, Wash., is a U.S.-based company and a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan. Sharp is a worldwide developer of core digital technologies that are playing an integral role in shaping the next generation of electronic products for consumer and business needs. Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas offers breakthrough memory, LCD, Optoelectronics, CCD CCD in full charge-coupled device Semiconductor device in which the individual semiconductor components are connected so that the electrical charge at the output of one device provides the input to the next device. , RF/IR, microcontroller A single chip that contains the processor (the CPU), non-volatile memory for the program (ROM or flash), volatile memory for input and output (RAM), a clock and an I/O control unit. and system-on-chip components, along with packaging and integration skills that help design engineers throughout North and South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. bring their ambitious ideas to market. Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas is dedicated to improving people's lives through the use of advanced technology and a commitment to innovation, quality, value and design. For more information, visit www.sharpsma.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion