Infineon Introduces a New Chip Card Controller Family Featuring Increased Performance and Security Mechanisms for Standard 8-Bit and 16-Bit Chip Card Applications

Sep 2, 2004 | Market News

Munich, Germany / New Delhi, India – September 2, 2004 – Today at the Smartcards Expo India 2004 show in New Delhi, Infineon Technologies AG (FSE, NYSE: IFX), the world’s number one supplier of integrated circuits (ICs) for chip cards, announced availability of a new family of security controllers for standard 8-bit and 16-bit chip card applications. The new “66P Enhanced”, or 66PE, family offers intelligent performance management and enhanced security features. It combines proven 0.22-micron chip card IC process technology with the highly flexible and revolutionary on-chip EEPROM technology also used in Infineon’s “88 family” of 32-bit chip card controllers. With EEPROM sizes ranging from 2K bytes for low-end payment applications to the 136K bytes needed for high-end mobile communications SIM (Security Identity Module) cards (GSM, UMTS), the 66PE products are also designed for use in identification (e.g., national ID and health cards) and payment applications, such as electronic purse and debit/credit applications. The 66PE family will supercede Infineon’s existing families of chip card security controllers, e.g., the 66P series. Its first members are already available in high volume.

The 66PE series is code-compatible with the 66P series, enabling smart card manufacturers to rapidly and easily migrate existing software masks. To accommodate new application software, the new controller family also offers an enhanced instruction set that facilitates access to larger on-chip memories while reducing the code size and increasing the performance of some program sequences by up to 80 percent.

The 66PE internal clock frequency is adjustable according to available power or required performance and runs at up to 33 MHz, which is double the frequency of the predecessor 66P family. To provide maximum performance within specified limits, e.g., 6 mA for 3 V GSM SIM cards, an integrated intelligent power limitation system automatically adapts the chip’s internal frequency, resulting in maximum performance during all smart card operations.

In addition, all members of the 66PE family present state-of-the-art security features, such as an active shielding that sends a continuous stream of random data over the surface of the chip. If a change in this data is sensed, the chip initializes an automatic alarm, setting it into a secured state. For chip-internal communication processes, for example between memory areas and processing unit, the 66PE family offers data bus as well as memory encryption. This means that not only the stored data is encrypted, but also every single signal sent on internal data buses. The 66PE family’s security features also include an enhanced sensor technique comprising low-voltage and high-voltage sensors, frequency sensors and filters, light and temperature sensors, and glitch sensors. Straightforward RSA (Rivest, Shamir, Adleman) signatures (without Chinese Remainder Theorem, CRT) with key lengths of 1,024 bits are processed in only 130 ms. The on-chip Memory Management and Protection Unit (MMU) separates operating system and application software.

Those members of the 66PE family used in high-security applications will be certified according to EAL 5+ (evaluation assurance level 5 plus) of the international “Common Criteria” standard, using the advanced BSI-PP-0002 protection profile. This is the world’s most rigorous security test in the chip card arena. It verifies that a chip card controller provides the highest available level of security and meets all requirements for qualified electronic signature. In addition, certain 66PE products will receive application-specific certifications, or “type approvals”, for credit card and electronic purse applications for VISA, MasterCard CAST and the “Geldkarte” (money card) of the German Central Credit Control Committee of Banks (Zentraler Kreditausschuss, ZKA), as well as Mondex.

“Designed as a true modular and scalable platform, the 66PE family supports the requirements of today’s contact-based and contactless chip card applications,” said Dr. Juergen Kuttruff, Vice President and General Manager at the Security business unit of Infineon’s Secure Mobile Solutions business group. “It enables easy software migration from existing platforms, and will be a powerful successor to the 66P family, which has achieved a 35 percent share of all chip card controllers shipped since its introduction in the year 2000.”

First members of 66PE family available targeting the mainstream GSM markets: SLE66C360PE, SLE66C324PE, SLE66C321PE, SLE66C161PE

The first three controllers in the new family, the SLE66C360PE, SLE66C324PE and SLE66C321PE, target the 32K-byte and 36K-byte GSM market, and have been available in high-volume quantities since July 2004. The most recent addition to the family, the SLE66C161PE, was qualified on September 1, 2004, and targets the 16K-byte GSM market.

The SLE66C360PE features 36K bytes of EEPROM, 196K bytes of ROM for application programs, and 4K bytes of XRAM, while the SLE66C324PE and the SLE66C321PE security controllers address the 32K-byte market with reduced memory configurations. The SLE66C161PE provides 16K bytes of EEPROM, 48K bytes of ROM and 2K bytes of XRAM.

Additional products in the 66PE series are planned to be qualified within the next twelve months. These products will be available with EEPROM capacities of 2K bytes, 4K bytes, 8K bytes, 16K bytes, 36K bytes, 68K bytes and 136K bytes. 66PE products support DES (Data Encryption Standard) and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithms. Some will feature powerful coprocessors for RSA and Elliptic Curves algorithms to support asymmetrical encryption.

For design-in support, a complete set of development hardware and software tools is available, including emulator, ROM monitor, card emulator, simulator and Smart Mask.

At the Smartcards Expo 2004 show (2 - 4 September 2004) in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India, Infineon is highlighting the versatility and quality of its chip card ICs and RFID solutions at Booth 14.

Further information on Infineon’s chip card ICs is available at: www.infineon.com/security

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2003 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.15 billion with about 32,300 employees world-wide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.

Information Number

INFSMS200409.089