Contactless, secure, mobile

In light of the rapid electrification and digitalization trends, demand for more efficient and safe microelectronics solutions is rising continuously. In order to meet this need, Infineon’s development center Graz is expanding its range of responsibilities and is developing particularly fast, powerful and energy-efficient microcontrollers for use in many areas of everyday life. The focus is on the development, design and layout of innovative microcontrollers that are used, for example, in household appliances, power tools, charging stations and batteries for e-bikes, solar systems or industrial robots and automation systems. Above all, they enable secure data processing for the Internet of Things.

Both contact-based and contactless security chips are designed to meet a range of standards for data transmission, with the aim of further increasing data transmission rates and finding new form factors for contactless applications.

Building on its expertise in contactless payment systems, Infineon is working on new chip solutions that make payment even more convenient, hygienic and secure. With biometric payment cards, the cardholder’s fingerprint is used for authentication instead of a PIN. The finger is placed on the card, where it is identified by a sensor and then matched with the fingerprint stored on the card. The microcontroller developed by the Graz team ensures secure data transmission of the confirmation from the sensor to the security chip and back to the reader.

With SECORA™ Pay Green, a milestone has been achieved in significantly reducing plastic waste and CO₂ emissions in the field of payment cards – specifically up to 100 percent less plastic waste and 60 percent less CO₂ emissions. This solution enables the production of the world's first fully recyclable contactless (dual-interface) payment card body based on environmentally friendly and locally sourced materials.

For the automotive market, the Graz researchers developed a module to optimize the charging and discharging of batteries in electric vehicles. The range and service life of the energy storage unit in zero-emission cars are of great importance when considering a purchase. With the right battery management, these characteristics are continuously improved, and in close cooperation with vehicle manufacturers, we were able to reach a completely new level