Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Hitachi Europe | Subject: AE45C and AE43C
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 07 November 2002
Smart card microcontrollers embed M/Chip
onboard
Hitachi has developed of new versions of its AE45C and AE43C 16bit microcontrollers featuring the MasterCard M/Chip application embedded in on-chip mask ROM.
Hitachi has developed of new versions of its AE45C and AE43C 16bit microcontrollers featuring the MasterCard M/Chip application embedded in on-chip mask ROM Volume production is scheduled to begin in December 2002
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 16 Feb 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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In recent years the financial field has been moving from conventional magnetic cards to smart cards offering more sophisticated security features and functionality for applications such as credit cards, debit cards, and bank ATM cards.
MasterCard, one of leaders in the payments industry, drives to provide a wide variety of global services based on its own global network and has developed the M/Chip smart card application to enable the credit and debit card services provided by MasterCard on smart card.
M/Chip complies with the EMV specifications.
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M/Chip Select is an operating system for smart cards that runs on MULTOS for smart card OS and supports the full specifications of M/Chip.
Up to now card manufacturers have incorporated the M/Chip application into smart cards.
This was accomplished by writing the M/Chip program to on-chip EEPROM of the smart card microcontroller.
However, using the EEPROM in this way leaves less free space to store other application software and data.
This makes it difficult to upgrade the functionality of existing smart cards, because it is not possible to add programs for implementing other functions.
In addition, the necessity to write data to EEPROM made the rapid production and issuance of smart cards problematic.
Thus, there was a need for the countermeasure to these problems and a more efficient, rapid way to issue new cards.
Hitachi has developed AE45C and AE43C with built-in M/Chip application as a response to the need to produce and issue smart cards rapidly while preserving the EEPROM for other uses.
They consist of the AE45C and AE43C 16bit smart card microcontrollers, which Hitachi had already been producing in quantity, with the M/Chip Select software stored into on-chip mask ROM under co-operation with Dai Nippon Printing Co.
The AE45C and AE43C were developed specifically for use in smart cards and incorporate the AE-4 16bit CPU core and 32Kbyte (AE45C) or 8Kbyte (AE43C) of on-chip EEPROM.
They have encryption coprocessor as well as abnormal voltage and frequency detection functions, making them suitable for use in smart cards requiring a high level of security.
As the entire EEPROM capacity of the AE45C and AE43C can be used for storing data or programs, the functionality of the smart cards can be upgraded.
In addition, as the M/Chip application is already incorporated, card manufacturers can easily and quickly issue credit cards and debit cards for MasterCard smart cards.
Hitachi plans to continue to enhance its lineup of products in the years ahead in response to market requirements.
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