1999-11-16 , E/IC-1075/54
Product News From Philips Semiconductors

Philips Semiconductors, the largest European semiconductor manufacturer, today announced the TDA8007B multiprotocol double smart card interface IC. With two analog interfaces integrated on one chip for the first time, this latest addition to the Philips Semiconductors advanced family of smart card interface ICs further enhances the company's current leadership in the rapidly growing pay TV and pay Net application markets.

"Future applications for smart cards and readers will be anywhere you need security integrated into your home applications", commented Jacques Potier, international product manager Philips Semiconductors. "This latest addition to our extended TDA800x family, the  TDA8007B, is ideally suited to applications needing the flexibility to interface with two smart cards using a standard microcontroller - for example in a set top box which needs to have two card readers, one for the subscription card and the other for a credit card. Other key application areas include point of sale, pay Net services and banking services."

Controlling two smart card slots and data communication with a third card by adding a third analog interface, the Philips Semiconductors TDA8007B supports synchronous and asynchronous data transfer for both 3V and 5V cards. The card interface also features an embedded ISO7816 UART for smart card protocol management, as well as specific timers, providing benefits such as automatic card convention processing, variable baud rate through frequency or division ratio programming, error management at character level and extra guard time management.

High speed communication is carried out via an 8-bit parallel bus interface compatible with any 8-bit µC, ensuring optimum flexibility, and fast and easy integration is achieved thanks to a comprehensive software library. Designers also benefit from a reduced PCB size, reduced cost and increased speed to interface with the card. Additional flexibility is added by the fact that card timings - work waiting time, block guard time, character waiting time and block waiting time - are also handled independently from the microcontroller.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier based on Dataquest's 1998 report*). Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at http://cdrom.semiconductors.com/

*) Based on Vendor Revenue from Shipments of Total Semiconductors Worldwide according to Dataquest's 1998 Worldwide Semiconductor Market Share report published in May, 1999.