WO2004006172A2

WO2004006172A2 - Portable data carrier with a polymer-based integrated circuit

Info

Publication number: WO2004006172A2
Application number: PCT/DE2003/002193
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frank Osterwald
Original assignee: Orga Kartensysteme Gmbh
Priority date: 2002-07-03
Filing date: 2003-07-01
Publication date: 2004-01-15
Also published as: WO2004006172A3; EP1576535A2; AU2003247245A8; DE10229972B4; AU2003247245A1; DE10229972A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a portable data carrier, especially a chip card, smart card, smart label or smart tag, comprising a substrate (2) and a polymer-based integrated circuit (3) on or inside said substrate.

Description

Portable data carrier with a polymer-based integrated circuit

Description

The invention relates to a portable data carrier with a substrate, in particular a chip card, smart card, smart label or smart tag.

Various portable data carriers are known from the prior art, which in general are commonly referred to as smart cards, smart cards, smart labels or smart tags. A distinction is made here, for example, between memory cards, microprocessor cards and contactless cards. The memory cards generally have integrated security logic in order to protect the stored data from manipulation. For example, they are used as prepaid cards.

Microprocessor cards, on the other hand, are characterized by a microprocessor integrated into the card that can be freely programmed. The possibility of storing secret keys and executing cryptographic algorithms by the microprocessor has made it possible to implement offline payment systems with a relatively high level of security. Another important area of application for microprocessor cards is mobile telephony, where they are used as so-called subscriber identity modules (SMs).

Both memory cards and microprocessor cards can be made contactless. Such contactless cards are particularly suitable for applications in the area of access control and electronic ticketing in local public transport.

In addition, there are optical memory cards with an optical memory on the chip card for applications for which the space available on the chip of the card is not sufficient.

A chip card is generally constructed in such a way that a cavity is provided in the chip card body, into which a module is inserted, in which an integrated circuit is located. The "Handbook of Chip Cards", Wolfgang Rankl, Wolfgang Effing, Hanser-Verlag 1999 provides an overview of chip card technology.

Recently, chip card systems that allow interactive use have also been known from the prior art. For example, DE 199 14 587 shows a chip card with keypads integrated in the card body for the input of data by a user. A common disadvantage of such previously known chip cards is that there is no correspondingly reliable protection against the module being separated from the crimp card body and the module being inserted into another chip card body. This basically allows manipulation, for example by removing the module from a card and misusing it in conjunction with a counterfeit card body. Corresponding manipulations are conceivable, for example, in chip card applications for access control.

The object of the invention is therefore to create a portable data carrier which is improved compared to the prior art.

The object on which the invention is based is achieved with the features of patent claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

According to the invention, the integrated circuit of a chip card or at least part of it forms an integral part of the chip card, which cannot be separated from the chip card without being destroyed. For this purpose, the card body is used as a substrate on which a polymer-based integrated circuit is applied. A separation of the integrated circuit from the chip card is therefore fundamentally excluded.

The production of integrated circuits based on conductive polymers is known per se from the prior art, compare Hans Hofstraat, "Will Polymer Electronics Change the Electronics Industry?", Polytronic 2001, Conference Processings, and Alexander Knobloch et al. "Printed Polymer Transistors ", Polytronic 2001, Conference Proceedings. DE 692 31 312 T2 also discloses conductive polymers.

According to the invention, such a polymer-based integrated circuit is applied directly to the substrate formed by the card body, so that the polymer-based integrated circuit forms an integral part of the portable data carrier. det, which can not be separated. A conventional plastic, such as, for example, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), can be used as the card body. The polymer-based integrated circuit can be applied directly to this plastic surface of the card body; alternatively, a further layer is first applied to the plastic surface in order to facilitate the application of the polymer-based integrated circuit to the substrate.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the polymer-based integrated circuit is applied to the substrate by means of a printing process. Inkjet printing processes, stencil or screen printing, letterpress printing, gravure printing and planographic printing are particularly suitable as printing processes. The desired electrically conductive, insulating or semiconducting polymer-based materials are used for printing on the polymer-based integrated circuit. By using a multi-layer printing process, several circuit levels of the polymer-based integrated circuit can be printed on top of one another.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the portable data carrier contains a conventional IC chip in addition to the polymer-based integrated circuit. For example, a conventional silicon or germanium-based IC chip is integrated into a module which is inserted into a cavity in the card body. The remaining substrate surface can be used for the application or printing of the polymer-based integrated circuit, which is electrically coupled to the IC chip. In this way, card functions can be shifted from the IC chip to the polymer-based integrated circuit. For example, additional memory space and / or additional logic functions can be made available by the polymer-based integrated circuit.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the IC chip is designed such that it is only coupled to the polymer-based integrated circuit the chip card can work. If the IC chip is separated from the chip card and inserted into another chip card, the IC chip cannot be operated.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the polymer-based integrated circuit contains a security feature for querying the IC chip. For example, this security feature is a code word stored in the polymer-based integrated circuit, which is queried by the IC chip. Cryptographic techniques can be used here.

Conversely, such a security feature, which is queried by the polymer-based integrated circuit, can also be stored in the IC chip. It is particularly advantageous here that there is effective protection against manipulation, i.e. a separation of the polymer-based integrated circuit and the IC chip leads to the chip card as a whole being rendered unusable. A function of the chip card is only possible if the polymer-based integrated circuit is operated together with the original IC chip, since only in this case will the security feature (s) be fulfilled.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the chip card has a function module, such as a sensor, actuator or an input or display device. Such a furcation module is preferably also applied or printed onto the substrate as a polymer-based integrated circuit. So-called organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), for example, can be used to implement a display.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the polymer-based integrated circuit is designed to control such a functional module. For this purpose, the polymer-based integrated circuit is electrically connected to the functional module, for example by means of a printed conductor printed on the substrate. In this way, a portable data carrier with different radio Produce tional components, which is also referred to as a chip card system or as a "Super Smart Card".

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a further layer is applied to the polymer-based integrated circuit in order to mechanically protect the polymer-based integrated circuit. Motifs or markings can be placed on or in this layer in order to use the chip card, for example, as an advertising medium. Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Show it:

1 shows a section through an embodiment of a chip card according to the invention,

2 shows a block diagram of a further embodiment of a chip card according to the invention,

3 shows a block diagram of a further embodiment of a chip card according to the invention with a display.

FIG. 1 shows a section through a chip card 1. The chip card 1 has a card body 2, which consists, for example, of a conventional plastic. The card body 2 serves as a substrate for applying a polymer-based integrated circuit 3. The polymer-based circuit has a plurality of circuit levels 4, 5 and 6, which are printed on the card body 2 in succession, for example in a multi-layer printing process. The circuits of circuit levels 4, 5 and 6 can be contacted with one another in the vertical direction by so-called vias in order to create a coherent polymer-based integrated circuit.

A further layer is preferably applied to the surface 7 of the polymer-based integrated circuit 3. For example, this can be a further plastic layer, which consists of the same or a different plastic as the card body 2. This layer can also serve as a carrier for prints or labels. It is particularly advantageous with the chip card 1 that the polymer-based integrated circuit 3 forms an integral part of the chip card that cannot be separated from the cardiac body 2 without being destroyed. Because of this, manipulations are practically excluded.

A further particular advantage is that the polymer-based integrated circuit 3 can be printed inexpensively on the card body 2, which, in terms of production technology, in particular offers cost advantages compared to the prior art.

FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of a chip card 8 according to the invention with a card body 9. The card body 9 has a cavity in which a module 10 is located. The chip card 8 preferably has a standard-compliant format, for example in accordance with the ISO 7810 standard, with an arrangement of the module 10 conforming to the norm. The module 10 contains a conventional IC chip which can be contacted by a chip card reader via the module 10.

A polymer-based integrated circuit 11 is located on or in the card body 9 and is applied to an area of the card body 9. The polymer-based integrated circuit 11 is electrically connected to the IC chip in the module 10 via lines 12, which are used for voltage supply and signal transmission. The lines 12 are printed on the card body 9 with a conductive printing ink.

The polymer-based integrated circuit 11 can serve, for example, as a memory expansion for the IC chip of the module 10 or can additionally provide logic functions.

To operate the chip card 8, it is inserted into a chip card reader which contacts the module 10 in a manner known per se and supplies it with voltage. The polymer-based integrated circuit 11 is then also supplied with voltage via the lines 12. When the chip card 8 is initialized after contacting the chip card reader, the IC chip of the module 10 reads the content of the memory 13 of the polymer-based integrated circuit 11, which contains a cryptographic key. This cryptographic key is evaluated by the IC chip in order to check whether the IC chip of the module 10 belongs to the polymer-based integrated circuit 11. The chip card 8 can only be used if this is the case; otherwise, the IC chip in the module 10 blocks the function of the chip card 8. This prevents the module 10 from being removed from the chip card 8 in order to replace it with another one.

Alternatively or additionally, a security feature can be stored in the IC chip of the module 10, which is evaluated by the polymer-based integrated circuit 11.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of a chip card, elements of FIG. 3 which correspond to elements of FIG. 2 being identified with the same reference symbols. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the chip card 8 has a function module 14 which is designed, for example, as an OLED display. The function module 14 is connected to the polymer-based integrated circuit 11 via lines 15. Both the functional module 14 and the lines 15 can in turn be applied to the card body 9 in terms of printing technology.

Instead of a display, the function module 14 can also include a sensor, actuator or another functional unit. Several function modules 14 can be present on the card body 9 in order to implement a so-called “super smart card”, for example.

The polymer-based integrated circuit 11 is preferably used to control the function module (s) 14. This relieves the IC chip in the module 10 of such peripheral control functions. FIG. 4 shows the layer structure of an embodiment of a polymer-based integrated circuit 16 on a card body 17. The surface 18 of the card body consists, for example, of polyester. A thin layer 19 of a special polymer is applied to the surface 18, into which source-drain electrodes of field effect transistors are incorporated. A suitable method for this is structured ablation using an excimer laser.

To build up the polymer transistors, a polymeric semiconductor 20 is applied to the structured electrode layer 19. An insulator layer 21 is applied to the semiconductor 20. Finally, a conductive polymer layer is processed onto the insulator layer 21, into which the gate electrodes 22 are incorporated.

For the connection of the polymer transistors to be realized to logic circuits and for the generation of the gate electrodes 22, both the laser direct writing method mentioned and the ink jet printing technology or another printing method can be used.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

smart card

Card body polymer-based integrated circuit

circuit level

surface

smart card

card body

Polymer-based integrated circuit module

management

Storage

function module

cables

Claims

P aten to sp

1. Portable data carrier with a substrate (2; 9) and a polymer-based integrated circuit (3; 11; 14) on or in the substrate.

2. Portable data carrier according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a plastic, in particular acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

3. Portable data carrier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the polymer-based integrated circuit includes at least one semiconductor component.

4. Portable data carrier according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the polymer-based integrated circuit is an electronic memory and / or a logical

Circuit, in particular a microprocessor or signal processing processor includes.

5. Portable data carrier according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein the polymer-based integrated circuit has a plurality of layers (4, 5, 6).

6. Portable data carrier according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, wherein the polymer-based integrated circuit is applied to the substrate by printing technology.

7. Portable data carrier according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 6 with an IC chip, wherein the IC chip is coupled to the polymer-based integrated circuit.

8. Portable data carrier according to claim 7, with a cavity in the substrate for receiving a module (10) with the IC chip.

, Portable data carrier according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the IC chip is designed such that a function of the IC chip requires the coupling to the polymer-based integrated circuit.

10. A portable data carrier according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the polymer-based integrated circuit has a security feature (13) for querying the IC chip.

11. Portable data carrier according to claim 1, 9 or 10, wherein the IC chip has a security feature for querying the polymer-based integrated circuit.

12. Portable data carrier according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 11, with a functional module (14) which is coupled to the polymer-based integrated circuit, and wherein the polymer-based integrated circuit for

Control of the function module is formed.

13. A portable data carrier according to claim 12, wherein the function module is a sensor, actuator or a display device.

14. A portable data carrier according to claim 13, wherein the functional module has a polymer-based circuit.