ST MCUs promise security in next-gen mobile, consumer apps

STMicroelectronics has announced the latest generation of its ST33 secure MCU line, offering advanced performance, enhanced security, lower power consumption and even greater multi-interface flexibility. The ST33G1M2 boasts the ability to function either in a mobile phone NFC UICC, which handles mobile payments alongside SIM applications and user-data storage, or as a dedicated embedded secure chip in NFC smartphones.

The device supports the complete MIFARE portfolio including MIFARE Classic, MIFARE DESFire and MIFARE Plus. Further enhancements include an improved EDES+ accelerator supporting 3-key triple DES security, and support for hardware-accelerated AES encryption (AES-HW).

Driving forward the ST33 family of secure MCUs suitable for both NFC UICC and eSE applications, ST's ST33G1M2 provides enhanced interfaces including Single-Wire Protocol (SWP) and a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), making the device suitable for a variety of form factors and applications.

Customers using the ST33 family will experience easy migration of existing solutions onto the ST33G1M2. In addition, ST's dual-factory supply capability (both 8in and 12in fab) for the ST33G1M2 ensures consistent lead times and security of supply.

The ST33G1M2 features a 32bit SC300 secure core based on ARM Cortex-M3, 1.2MB embedded Flash, and reduced power consumption and silicon footprint. It is targeted for EMVCo and EAL5+ certifications, and boasts enhanced connectivity with SPI and GPIO.

The ST33G1M2 is in full production and available in wafers or micromodules, or in DFN8 or WLCSP packages.