Infineon Technologies AG recently announced that its high-performance communication interface for Near Field Communication (NFC) applications has gained widespread industry recognition and become a de facto industry standard. Infineon's Digital Contactless Bridge (DCLB) interface enables fast and secure connections between embedded secure elements and NFC modems. As a free, globally applicable, and open solution, DCLB has been widely adopted by NFC modem and secure element manufacturers for use in mobile phones. To date, 10 manufacturers, including Texas Instruments, Inside Secure, MicroPross, MtekVision, and KEOLABS, have licensed Infineon's DCLB interface.
Juergen Spaenkuch, Vice President and General Manager of Platform Security at Infineon’s Chip Cards & Security Business Unit, said: “We strongly support open solutions like the DCLB interface because they accelerate the large-scale deployment of new technologies. Unlike proprietary solutions offered by a single vendor, widely accepted standards improve compatibility across a variety of different endpoints, allowing system integrators to freely choose from a wide range of devices.”
NFC communication interface that meets the highest security standards
Infineon's DCLB interface provides an efficient solution for secure NFC applications requiring fast response times, such as mobile payments, access control, or public transport ticketing systems. By supporting peak data rates up to 848 kB/s, it improves connectivity between the NFC modem and the secure element—through which some transactions are executed. This represents nearly eight times the data throughput compared to other interfaces. Furthermore, Infineon's secure controller is the first embedded secure element to receive the highest security certification (EAL 6+(high)) from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).
Alex Green, Senior Research Manager for Financial and ID Technologies at IMS Research, which was recently acquired by IHS, pointed out: "For NFC to achieve rapid and widespread market coverage, consumers must be assured that their data is properly protected during processing and that the technology is very easy to use. By providing innovative solutions and products suitable for NFC applications, Infineon has made its due contribution to bringing NFC to the mass market."
The importance of various NFC applications, including mobile payments and public transportation ticketing systems, is increasingly evident. Global shipments of NFC-enabled mobile phones are projected to increase from 79 million units in 2012 to 900 million units by 2016, representing 44% of all mobile phones. Shipments of NFC secure elements for such phones or PCs are also expected to increase from 120 million units in 2012 to 1.3 billion units by 2016. (From "NFC Global Market - 2012 Edition," published by IMS Research, a subsidiary of IHS, January 2012)
Ensuring security in an interconnected world
Leveraging its core strengths in security, contactless communication, and integrated microcontroller solutions (embedded control), Infineon offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor-based security products to support a wide range of chip cards and security applications. Infineon utilizes its expertise in this field to ensure the security of applications such as mobile payments, system security, and secure e-government documents in an increasingly interconnected world. For 25 years, Infineon has been committed to developing innovative hardware-based security solutions, maintaining its global market leadership for 15 years.
