- CONTACT CARDS

- CONTACT LESS CARDS

- PERSONALIZATION OF SMART CARDS

CONTACT CARDS

Contact cards are regulated by the prescriptions of ISO 7816, which describes the physical and mechanical characteristics, the position of the chip, the protocols in use and the rules for data personalization (encoding).

There are two different basic types of contact card:

•  microprocessor cards

•  memory cards

Microprocessor cards have the same technical features and components as a miniature computer: a CPU that processes the data, RAM memory that manages the programs stored on the chip, ROM memory and an EEPROM. Memory cards can be compared more accurately to a floppy disk or CD: these cards are simply composed of free memory and do not incorporate a management application, which must instead be supplied by external read/write devices.

CONTACT LESS CARDS

Contactless cards function by exploiting the principle wherein magnetic fields generate an electrical current in moving metals. The reader terminal incorporates an active antenna, while the passive antenna is inserted in the card and connected to the chip: when the card is passed in front of the terminal (at a maximum distance of 1 m) it generates the electrical energy needed to activate the chip (in contact cards the energy is provided by contact with the read/write devices). The basic innovation lies in the fact that the connection times between card and terminal are eliminated and in situations of space restrictions the terminals are relatively simple and sufficiently flexible to adapt to the specific requirements of the application.

There are two types of contactless card:

• low frequency (125 KHz; range 2-100 cm)

these cards can be from 64 bits to 1 Kbit of memory and they are generally utilized for differentiated access control, vending machines or automatic dispensers.

•  High frequency (13.56 MHz; range 3-10 cm)

high frequency contactless cards have up to 2 Kbyte of memory and are mainly used for mass access and time & attendance systems.