Increased memory for contactless access

STMicroelectronics' says that the Sri2K has been designed to pave the way for more flexible e-ticketing and increasing user convenience. The device incorporates EEPROM rewritable memory to implement an on chip memory of 2Kbit density alongside rfid circuitry. The data capacity could make possible seamless access to various types of transport with one e-ticket. The SRi2K has four times more data storage than ST's SRi512 and SRT512 rfid ics, which are currently used in a range of contactless ticketing applications worldwide. The largest of these is the Single Journey Ticket system for the Seoul Metro in South Korea. The new device features integrated rfid circuitry operating at the standard 13.56MHz carrier frequency and meeting applicable international standards. The ic also allows the implementation of security schemes, based on its 64bit ID as well as lockable memory blocks. An 8bit anticollision mechanism allows large numbers of contactless tickets to be made without interfering with each other. The chip's memory access time and 106Kbit/s data rate enable rapid communication between the ticket and reader, to speed up each transaction. According to ST, the SRi2K features 'unparalleled' dual 32bit decrementing counters to prevent data loss, known as ticket tearing, in the event of power failure while the ticket is being debited. The SRi2K is certified for one million erase/rewrite cycles and 40-year data retention and mass production is scheduled for November 2009, delivered as bare die for embedding directly in smart tickets, or in unsingulated wafer form.