Atmel AT90SC9604RU Secure Microcontroller for Smart Cards

Atmel introduced its AT90SC9604RU secure microcontroller in replacement of the AT90SC6404RT chip. The new secure microcontroller is suited for Smart Card applications such as CPA (Common Platform Application) for the EMV banking, SDA (Static Data Authentication) market, and low end (cost sensitive) bank cards.

The AT90SC9604RU achieves throughputs close to 1 MIPS per MHz by executing instructions in a single clock cycle. Its Harvard architecture includes 32 general-purpose working registers directly connected to the ALU, allowing two independent registers to be accessed in one single instruction executed in one clock cycle. The ability to map the EEPROM in the code space allows parts of the program memory to be reprogrammed in-system.

Atmel AT90SC9604RU Secure Microcontroller Block Diagram

The AT90SC9604RU Secure Microcontroller is based on Atmel's 8-/16-bit RISC SecureAVR architecture, that allows the linear addressing of up to 8M bytes of code and up to 16M bytes of data as well as a number of new functional and security features. The new secure microcontroller features on-chip high density, compact memories:

• 4 Kbytes EEPROM,
• 96 Kbytes of user-ROM, and
• 2 Kbytes of RAM.

This product has been designed to meet the security standards of Common Criteria EAL4+ and EMVCo. It shares the same common features with Atmel's secureAVR family including strong security mechanisms, a DES/TDES processor, a true random number generator, DFA/DPA/SPA resistant, firewalls and environmental protections to name just a few.

Features of AT90SC9604RU Secure Microcontroller

• General
  • High-performance, Low-power AVR™ RISC Architecture
    • 135 Powerful Instructions (Most Executed in a Single Clock Cycle)
  • Low Power Idle and Power-down Modes
  • Bond Pad Locations Conforming to ISO 7816-2
  • Compliant with GSM, 3GPP and EMV 2000 Specifications
  • Operating Ranges: 2.7 to 5.5V
  • ESD Protection to ± 6000V
  • Available in Wafers, Modules, and Industry-standard Packages
• Memory
  • 96K Bytes of ROM Program Memory
  • 2K Bytes of RAM
  • 4K Bytes of EEPROM, Including 64 OTP Bytes and 192-byte Bit-addressable Bytes
    • 1 to 64-byte Program / Erase
    • 1.25 ms Program / 1.25 ms Erase
    • Typically 500,000 Write/Erase Cycles at a Temperature of 25oC
    • 10 Years Data Retention
• Peripherals
  • ISO 7816 controller
    • Up to 625 kpbs at 5 MHz
    • Compliant with T = 0 and T = 1 Protocols
  • Two 16-bit Timers
  • One I/O Port
  • Random Number Generator (RNG)
  • Hardware DES and Triple DES DPA Resistant
  • Checksum Accelerator
  • CRC 16 & 32 Engine (Compliant with ISO/IEC 3309)
  • 2-level, 7-vector Interrupt Controller
• Security
  • Dedicated Hardware for Protection Against SPA/DPA Attacks
  • Environmental Protection Systems
  • Advanced Protection Against Physical Attack, Including Active Shield
  • Voltage Monitor
  • Frequency Monitor
  • Light Protection
  • Temperature Monitor
  • Secure Memory Management/Access Protection (Supervisor Mode)
• Development Tools
  • Atmel’s AVR Studio Version 4.07 or Above
  • Voyager Emulation Platform (ATV2 adv or ATV4) to Support Software Development
  • IAR Embedded Workbench V4.20 Debugger
  • Software Libraries and Application Notes
• Certification targeted
  • EAL4+
  • VISA
  • CAST

AT90SC9604RU Secure Microcontroller is in sampling now. Volume production is scheduled in Q2 of 2007 with price starts at $0.67 each for 10k units qty.

More info: Atmel AT90SC9604RU Secure Microcontroller for Smard Cards