ST first set up a team to design “chip cards” in 1981, with the aim of adding security features to the then available memory technology. The team released its first secure memory IC in 1982, followed by the world’s first prepaid Telephone Card chip in 1983. The following year, ST completed the development of an MCU-based smartcard IC for the first banking applications. Throughout the history of the Smartcard Industry ST has been supplying the industry’s most advanced technologies, benefiting from the greatest production experience, a continuous record of innovation, and an unsurpassed record in the field of security certification.

From advanced co-operative research programs to lead-market innovations
In addition to being in close touch with its direct customers, leading smartcard issuers and the key service providers, ST has always been very active in major pre-competitive research and development programs. Joint European smartcard-oriented R&D projects like MEDEA MASSC, MEDEA+ Espass-IS, the Information Society Technologies (IST) Framework Programs IST–FP5 Full-Speed and IST-FP6 InspireD, and the Secure Communication Solutions (SCS) Competitive Cluster initiative, have all facilitated the development of innovative IPs around ST’s secure 32-bit MCU core platforms in micro kernels of advanced operating systems; advanced communications protocols based on the USB full-speed standards; high data-rate contactless interfaces; and implementation and management of large non-volatile memory arrays.

ST is a member of major industry associations such as Eurosmart, GlobalPlatform, Visa Global Alliance Program, Java Card Forum, and ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). The Company participates in a number of standardization working groups for security implementation and certification criteria and methodologies (EC-DG Market Interior’s Fraud Protection Experts Group, Eurosmart - PSSWG, ISSCI), advanced communication protocols (USB, ISO14443, ), and secure computing (Trusted Computing Group standards).

Trends and market-leading innovations
ST’s determination to be at the leading edge of the smartcard technology was underscored by the introduction in smartcard chips of ST’s highly innovative “Page Flash” memory in the second half of 2002.
The addition of ST Flash to ST’s 32-bit platform provides a future-proof solution for smartcard ICs. ST’s unique combination of “Page Flash” (EEPROM replacement with word read/write resolution) with “Standard Flash” (ROM replacement) has eliminated the need for EEPROM and paved the way for the next generation of smartcard solutions. The combination of advanced 32-bit processing power and 1 MByte of Flash memory on the ST22FJ1M, was introduced in 2003,

In Banking
As early as in 2003, the first three members of ST’s ST19 family of secure microcontrollers, manufactured in the leading edge 0.18µm technology, were ranked at Technology Level 3 by Visa International, the highest VISA security level certification at that time.
In early 2003, ST acquired Proton World International (PWI), a leading smartcard software company that specialized in high-security payment and identification smartcard systems. The addition of Proton’s software expertise fully complemented ST’s leading-edge smartcard chip technology and has allowed ST to provide a complete range of System-on-Chip solutions for Finance and e-Government under the Prisma brand name.

In IT Security
	Trusted Computing is becoming a major IT concern due to the increasing vulnerability of personal computers, laptop computers, and other portable devices to both physical and electronic attacks. The Trusted Platform Module is now used in the majority of new desktop and portable personal computers, based on the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) specifications. ST was the first supplier to start volume production in early 2005 of a TCG 1.2-compliant device with partner software completing the solution. A valid follow-up TPM component has been introduced in 2006, which conforms again to the latest TPM specification and provides, in particular, support for Direct Anonymous Attestation (DAA) and secure Field Upgrade capability.

Trusted Computing is becoming a major IT concern due to the increasing vulnerability of personal computers, laptop computers, and other portable devices to both physical and electronic attacks. The Trusted Platform Module is now used in the majority of new desktop and portable personal computers, based on the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) specifications. ST was the first supplier to start volume production in early 2005 of a TCG 1.2-compliant device

with partner software completing the solution. A valid follow-up TPM component has been introduced in 2006, which conforms again to the latest TPM specification and provides, in particular, support for Direct Anonymous Attestation (DAA) and secure Field Upgrade capability.

In e-Government
	Following the need to reinforce security and develop anti-terrorism counter-measures after the 9/11 attacks, as well as to reduce administration costs of governments worldwide, ID, Passport, and other Government applications are switching from paper-based to machine-readable electronic documents with biometric information. This trend is catalyzing the development of secure contactless technologies, with products integrating advanced cryptographic and computation features with larger memory capacities for storing facial and fingerprint data, on-card verification, and match calculations for privacy protection.

Announced in 2005, ST’s dual contactless smart card MCU with a high-speed contactless interface, 66 Kbytes of EEPROM memory, and the cryptographic power required to process sensitive data. is perfect for e-Passport and ID applications. In 2006, the Company launched the best-in-class dual-contact chip, which is a breakthrough in terms of e-Passport transaction time reductions. A product of this platform has recently received a Common Criteria Certification EAL5+

ST is involved in many of the world's leading and most innovative government-sponsored programs, including the Juki card in Japan, the Italian ID card, the Indian driving license, the French health card scheme, as well as many other ID programs.

In Public Transport
With the growing number of mass-transit authorities, hand in hand with financial associations and their member banks, adopting contactless technology for their ticketing and advanced payment solutions, ST has reinforced its leading position in this segment by launching a reliable and fast 2Kb EEPROM contactless device, aimed at improving transport operators’ offer, as well as stimulating the emerging market for contactless payment cards.

In Mobile Communications
	ST is currently pushing the boundaries of the smartcard technology with a complete new range of Smartcard ICs, called the ST21 family. Cost-effective and sustained by an aggressive technological roadmap, ST’s new smartcard products are well adapted to the requirements of GSM, 2G, 2.5G, and 3G mobile applications. The new family is based upon a secure and efficient 8-bit core derived from ST’s ST7M microcontroller with improved addressing modes. The devices are manufactured with an advanced 0.13/0.11 µm EEPROM process with copper and further additions will use the Company’s 90nm Embedded Flash technology.

Conclusion
ST today offers a complete range of secure microcontrollers for smartcards and trusted product application segments, together with a broad portfolio of efficient, interoperable System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions. In line with global standards, ST’s smartcard SoCs provide our customers with the advantage of faster time to market at minimized evaluation and maintenance costs. The rich product offering is supported by a full set of technology services and tool.

November 2007