Smart Cards

15} Smart Cards: A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC), is any pocket-sized card that has embedded integrated circuits. Smart cards are typically made of plastic. Those cards with a microcontroller chip have the ability to perform on-card processing functions and can add, delete and manipulate information in the chip's memory. Businesses, the government, financial and healthcare organizations continue to move towards storing and releasing information via networks, Intranets, extranets and the Internet. These organizations are turning to smart cards to make this information readily available to those who need it, as data storage technology continues to advance, manufacturers will continue to increase the functionality of smart cards by working with elements of these cards at the nano scale.

Smart card can be differentiate on the following basis:

ü Classification Based on Capabilities

A.   Microprocessor-based Cards:

The security of data on microprocessor cards is greater than any other storage device, because it has the microprocessor embedded in the plastic card along with the memory.It is also use as SIM card.

Today it has:

1.     8-bit processor

2.     RAM-512Bytes

3.     ROM-16KB

B.   Memory-based Cards:

     Memory-based cards need a card reader to manipulate the data on the card. It has no processing power and cannot manage the data stored in them. These cards are widely used as prepaid phone cards. It is just like as memory card. Format of memory card are PC card, Memory stick, Compact Flash, Universal flash storage, Mini SD card, Micro SD Card etc. Memory Card is most popular card in these days. These are available from 512KB to 125GB in the market. 

ü Classification Based on Mechanism

A.   Contact Cards:

These are the most common type of smart card. Electrical contacts located on the outside of the card connect to a card reader when the card is inserted. This connector is bonded to the encapsulated chip in the card and inside the plastic card with a microprocessor and a memory or only with a memory. They are widely used in network security, access control, e-commerce, electronic cash, and as health cards.

B.   Contactless Cards:

These are smart cards that employ a radio frequency (RFID) between card and reader without physical insertion of the card. These cards have an antenna built in the card, that is used to communicate to the reader.  These cards function with a very limited memory and communicate at 125 MHz. These cards are used as parking cards, student identification, and electronics passports.

C.   Combination Cards:

Contact IC and RFID Combination Smart Card

These card have the property of both Contact and contactless both the card. The antenna of the card is used or the contact pads are used to manipulate data. The viewer can insert smart cards into the set-top box to trigger the box to decrypt contact programming. These card are used in the field of vending passes, meal passes, access control, and network security.

D.   Proximity Cards:

 proximity card reader

Proximity readers continuously transmit a low-level fixed radio frequency (RF) signal that provides energy to the card. When the card is held at a certain distance from the reader, the RF signal is absorbed by a small coil inside the card that powers up the card’s microchip which contains a unique identification code. Once powered, the card transmits the code to the reader. Prox cards use radio frequency technology (RFID) to wirelessly open doors once when they are within range of a prox card reader.

E.   Hybrid Cards:

Hybrid Smart 

Hybrid cards have multiple chips in the same card. These are typically attached to each interface separately, such as a MIFARE chip and antenna with a contact 7816 chip in the same card. There are many benefits that are making the use of smart cards very popular.

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