STMicroelectronics Introduces 90 nm Secure Microcontroller with Embedded Flash for Smart Cards

November 14, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

The ST21F384, the first secure micro within the ST established ST21 smart card platform, is optimized for 2.5G and 3G mobile communications and uses Flash memory in place of mask read-only memory (ROM).

According to ST, the ST21F family will enable card manufacturers to react quickly and cost effectively to the changing needs of the mobile market, customizing applications late in the production process, at the card personalization stage and addressing the requirements of multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) with a single product.

Supply chain risk and complexity can be reduced because the silicon is not linked to a specific operator profile, the company said.

The ST21F384 is based on an enhanced 8/16 b central processing unit (CPU) core with 16 MB linear addressing range, running typically at 21 MHz.

It embeds 7 KB of user random access memory (RAM), plus 384 KB of Flash memory, organized as 128 B pages, with an erase capability similar to that of the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) used in earlier devices in the secure family.

Current consumption complies with 2G and 3G specifications to meet the requirements of universal subscriber identity module (U-SIM) applications. The MCU includes a hardware data encryption standard (DES) accelerator and a user-accessible cyclic redundancy code (CRC) calculation block.

Card manufacturers using the Flash-based secure MCU will be able to reduce lead times throughout the production process, with less time required to validate the operating system (OS) on the card and to provide samples to operators, according to ST. A reduced time-to-volume production will also be achieved due to the ability to stock unprogrammed devices. The cycle time to implement OS feature updates and new MNO requirements will also be shorter, the company said.

With application code stored in Flash memory, card manufacturers will no longer pay ROM mask costs; in addition, the code itself can be smaller, as it is necessary to implement only the features required for the final customer, rather than creating a general solution.

"The move to 90 nm technology for this new ST21 platform device is the breakthrough that adds real cost efficiency to the flexibility and other benefits of the Flash-based smart card," said Marie-France Florentin, ST smart card ICs business director.

"With ST's world-class manufacturing capability, based on more than 20 years as a leader in secure MCUs, card manufacturers for the mobile industry will be able to reduce their costs while also minimizing time to market," Florentin said.

Samples of the ST21F384 are available now, with volume production starting in December 2007.

Source: STMicroelectronics (ST).