Infineon's new crypto chip platform offers excellent flexibility and advanced protection for contactless transactions

     Infineon Technologies introduces the 40nm SLC36 / SLC37 security chip platform, which uses the high-performance, energy-efficient 32-bit ARM SecurCore SC300 dual-interface security chip. The new hardware platform comes with SOLID Flash memory, with or without the latest application solutions. The product family is equipped with a full range of dual interface and non-contact modules, including conventional and inductive coupling technologies.

     The crypto chip platform provides outstanding performance and flexibility for contactless payment, ID, ticketing and access control applications. As  a result, Infineon can provide special support for the growing trend of digital and connected devices that meet the latest encryption requirements of ECC and AES. Contactless transactions provide reliable protection while further reducing transaction times. This also makes the 40nm technology platform the foundation of SECORA solutions, especially for payments, iot and ID applications.

     Since the COVID-19 outbreak, people have preferred more hygienic methods of contactless transactions and payments. In 2019, 25 percent of German citizens used cashless payments, and by 2020, 50 percent were already choosing card payments over cash. Contactless transactions using cards and wearables grew by 40% globally; Eighty percent of those transactions were less than $25 - a segment previously dominated by cash payments. The trend toward contactless digitization is equally overwhelming in ID and transportation applications.

     Ioannis Kabitoglou, senior vice president and General manager of Smart Card Solutions Business at Infineon, said that with the growing demand for contactless ID, transportation and payment transactions, high-performance smart security architectures and products need to meet the increasingly stringent security requirements of the post-quantum security era while maintaining high contactless performance. We leverage our expertise in security and PQC design and cross-industry knowledge to develop, validate and certify the next generation of leading dual-interface security chips. With the 40nm platform, we are able to reduce our customers' development efforts and time to market by accelerating product and solution design.

     Based on the ARM SecurCore SC300 architecture, the 40nm product family covers the entire market range from the smallest to the most powerful chips and complies with the latest encryption requirements of ECC and AES. The product family is designed to support a variety of payment and ID applications with different solution and memory requirements. Based on an innovative logistics concept, the platform was launched quickly and the lead time was short, so it was successfully rolled out to customers in a very short time, while providing customers with increased flexibility and reduced workload. This speeds time to market and enables customers to optimize R&D resources. The product offers excellent performance and is fully compliant with all open standards, as well as support for advanced payments, ID and multi-app use.

     In particular, smaller wearable products like watches, rings, jewelry and metal cards will benefit. Supported standards are ISO14443 A/B, ISO18092 (NFC) for contactless interfaces, and ISO7816 for contactless interfaces. The platform offers the highest performance for 40 nm products with internal clock rates up to 100 MHz, which is crucial for reducing transaction times. The platform's products can be adapted to all regional needs, thus meeting the global market and strongly supporting regional market needs.