Cambridge, U.K. — ARM has announced the availability of the ARM SecurCore SC300 processor that is designed specifically for contactless and USB smart cards and embedded security applications. Launched at the CARTES & Identification 2007 trade show, the new product, based on the Cortex-M3 processor, combines the security features of ARM SecurCore processors, with the code efficiency of the Thumb-2 instruction set architecture, which the company says doubles energy efficiency and performance.
With collaboration from contactless IC vendors such as Samsung Electronics and STMicroelectronics, the SecurCore SC300 processor will enable more functionality to be embedded in a smart card or SIM card with minimal additional silicon area, said ARM.
The SC300 processor is said to deliver fast real-time handling of multiple interfaces for new high-speed and contactless applications including Smart Card Web Server (SWCS) and Near Field Communication (NFC). It offers fully featured debug facilities and tools to help smart card OEMs speed software development. In addition, smart card emulation is available prior to silicon, enabling collaboration in the early stages of hardware and software development, and accelerating time-to-market, said ARM.
This ensures full compatibility with other ARM processors and support from the ARM RealView Microcontroller Development Kit which is suitable for developing the firmware that will run on smart cards.
Availability: The ARM SecurCore SC300 processor is now available for licensing.
Product information: SecurCore family
