Pay with wearables: embed ST’s boostedNFC compact contactless module
This, ST asserts, overcomes space constraints by integrating a miniaturized contactless radio booster with a secure microcontroller in the same package, one that can use a small-size antenna. The SiP meets security and card-industry standards and is supported by development ecosystem including software and tools.
The enhanced NFC radio plus secure banking chip occupy a 4 x 4mm module. The company’s boostedNFC technology allows wearables with small antennas to deliver a great user experience when interacting with card readers over typical contactless distances. Wearables can range from fashion items to one-time devices such as event wristbands. The development ecosystem includes radio-tuning tools and pre-defined antenna configurations. The ST53G meets all relevant card-industry standards, including EMVCo compliance, ISO/IEC-14443 NFC card emulation, and MIFARE ticketing specifications.
The secure banking chip contained in the ST53G SiP uses ST’s ST31G480 secure microcontroller for high-performance smartcard applications, which is based on the ARM SC000 SecurCore processor. It features a secure architecture with a NESCRYPT coprocessor for public-key cryptography and hardware accelerators for algorithms such as AES and triple-DES. Extensive anti-tamper protection including an active shield, environmental monitoring, a unique serial number for each die, and protection against numerous other attacks is also built-in. These features complement software-based security running on the SC000 core to ensure the strongest possible protection for users’ credentials.
The contactless IC is the STS3922 RF booster, which uses active-load modulation (ALM) to maximize transaction range and omnidirectional radio performance in card-emulation mode. This enables wearable devices to be easy to use, with equal or better device-to-reader positioning tolerance than conventional contactless smartcards, even though a smaller antenna is used. Using ST53G contributes to final device cost optimization, as small antennas can be etched onto the PCB at almost zero additional cost. In some cases, a challenging metallic case can itself be used as part of the RF antenna.
Automatic power and gain control, configurable sensitivity, and configurable signal/reader-field phase difference ensure consistent communication over all ranges while enhancing interoperability with different types of readers and terminals including various types of transportation ticketing systems. The STS3922 has inherently low power consumption, and a dedicated secure-microcontroller wake-up output maximizes battery life.
Engineering samples of the ST53G System-in-Package in the 4 × 4 mm WFBGA64 package are available now. Full production is scheduled to start in Q1 2018.
ST; www.st.com
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