Infineon Promotes Open Standard to Accelerate NFC Mass Deployment; Fast and Secure Communication Interface Implemented by Major Industry Players

Neubiberg, Germany – November 6, 2012 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) today announced that its high-performance communication interface for Near Field Communication (NFC) applications is gaining wide acceptance as a de facto industry standard. The Digital Contactless Bridge (DCLB) interface specified by Infineon offers fast and secure connection between an embedded Secure Element and an NFC modem. As a freely available and globally open solution, DCLB is widely implemented by manufacturers of NFC modems and Secure Elements for handsets. To date, more than 10 manufacturers including Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI), Inside Secure, MicroPross, MtekVision, Crocus Technology and KEOLABS have licensed the Infineon DCLB interface.

“We strongly support open solutions such as the DCLB interface as they accelerate mass deployment of a new technology,” says Juergen Spaenkuch, Vice President and General Manager Platform Security of the Chip Card & Security Division at Infineon Technologies. “In contrast to proprietary solutions provided by a single supplier, broadly accepted standards increase compatibility of various devices and allow system integrators to choose among a variety of offerings.”

NFC communication interface meeting highest security standards

Infineon defined the DCLB interface to provide an effective solution for secure NFC applications requiring fast response time such as mobile payment, access control or ticketing in public transport. It improves performance of the connection between an NFC modem device and the Secure Element where the transaction is partially executed by supporting peak data rates of 848 kilobits/second (kB/s). This is almost eight-fold the volume of data compared to other interfaces. In addition, Infineon’s security controller is the first embedded Secure Element awarded with the highest security certificate, the Common Criteria EAL 6+ (high), by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

“For NFC to quickly achieve wide market coverage, the consumer must be able to rely in the secure handling of his data and expects convenient handling of the technology,” says Alex Green, senior research manager for financial and ID technology at IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS. “ With innovative solutions and product engagement in the NFC ecosystem, Infineon contributes to bringing NFC to the mass market.”

The importance of various NFC applications including mobile payment or ticketing in public transport is gaining momentum. Worldwide shipments of NFC-enabled handsets are expected to grow from 79 million units in 2012 to 900 million units in 2016, representing 44 percent of all handsets. Shipments of NFC Secure Elements used for such handsets or PCs are expected to increase from 120 million units in 2012 to 1.3 billion units in 2016 (“The World Market for NFC – 2012 Edition”, IMS Research, an IHS company, January 2012).

Infineon at Cartes 2012

Infineon presents its Chip Card & Security solutions at Cartes 2012 tradeshow in Paris, November 6-8, at its booth J 002 in hall 4. Further information on Infineon’s show highlights is available at www.infineon.com/cartes

Security for the connected world

Based on its core competencies in the fields of security, contactless communication and integrated microcontroller solutions (Embedded Control), Infineon offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor-based security products for many chip card and security applications. Infineon uses this expertise to increase security in an increasingly networked world, e.g. for mobile payments, system security and secure electronic governmental documents. Infineon has developed innovative, hardware-based security solutions for over 25 years and has been the world market leader for 15 years. Further information on Infineon's chip card and security solutions is available at www.infineon.com/chip-card-and-securit

Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, mobility, and security. In the 2011 fiscal year (ending September 30), the company reported sales of Euro 4.0 billion with close to 26,000 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.