EP2742464A1 - Amélioration du couplage dans et sur des cartes intelligentes d'identification par radiofréquence (rfid) - Google Patents

Amélioration du couplage dans et sur des cartes intelligentes d'identification par radiofréquence (rfid)

Info

Publication number
EP2742464A1
EP2742464A1 EP11793421.6A EP11793421A EP2742464A1 EP 2742464 A1 EP2742464 A1 EP 2742464A1 EP 11793421 A EP11793421 A EP 11793421A EP 2742464 A1 EP2742464 A1 EP 2742464A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
antenna
module
card
winding
coupling
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP11793421.6A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
David Finn
Klaus Ummenhofer
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Feinics Amatech Teoranta Ltd
Original Assignee
Feinics Amatech Teoranta Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US13/205,600 external-priority patent/US8474726B2/en
Priority claimed from US13/294,578 external-priority patent/US20120055013A1/en
Application filed by Feinics Amatech Teoranta Ltd filed Critical Feinics Amatech Teoranta Ltd
Publication of EP2742464A1 publication Critical patent/EP2742464A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
    • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
    • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
    • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
    • G06K19/077—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
    • G06K19/07749—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card

Definitions

  • the invention relates to "secure documents” such as electronic passports, electronic ID cards and smart cards having RFID (radio frequency identification) chips or chip modules and operating in a contactless mode (ISO 14443) including dual interface (“DI", or “DIF”) cards which can also operate in contact mode (ISO 7816-2), and more particularly to improving coupling between components within the smart card, such as between a module antenna (MA) associated with the chip module (CM) and a card antenna (CA) on the card body (CB) of the smart card and consequent improvements in interacting with external RFID readers.
  • a module antenna (MA) associated with the chip module (CM) and a card antenna (CA) on the card body (CB) of the smart card and consequent improvements in interacting with external RFID readers.
  • an RFID transponder generally comprises a substrate, an RFID chip (or chip module) disposed on or in the substrate, and an antenna disposed on or in the substrate.
  • the transponder may form the basis of a secure document such as an electronic passport, smart card or national ID card.
  • the chip module may operate solely in a contactless mode (such as ISO 14443), or may be a dual interface (DIF) module which can operate also in contact mode (such as ISO 7816-2) and a contactless mode.
  • the chip module may harvest energy from an RF signal supplied by an external RFID reader device with which it communicates.
  • the substrate which may be referred to as an "inlay substrate” (for electronic passport) or “card body” (for smart card) may comprise one or more layers of material such as Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), PET (doped PE), PET-G (derivative of PE), TeslinTM, Paper or Cotton/Noil, and the like.
  • PVC Polyvinyl Chloride
  • PC Polycarbonate
  • PE polyethylene
  • PET doped PE
  • PET-G derivative of PE
  • TeslinTM Paper or Cotton/Noil
  • the chip module may be a leadframe-type chip module or an epoxy-glass type chip module.
  • the epoxy-glass module can be metallized on one side (contact side) or on both sides with through- hole plating to facilitate the interconnection with the antenna.
  • the antenna may be a self-bonding (or self-adhering) wire.
  • a conventional method of mounting an antenna wire to a substrate is to use a sonotrode (ultrasonic) tool which vibrates, feeds the wire out of a capillary, and embeds it into or sticks it onto the surface of the substrate.
  • a typical pattern for an antenna is generally rectangular, in the form of a flat (planar) coil (spiral) having a number of turns.
  • the two ends of the antenna wire may be connected, such as by thermo- compression (TC) bonding, to terminals (or terminal areas, or contact pads) of the chip module. See, for example US 6,698,089 and US 6,233,818, incorporated by reference herein.
  • the overall antenna area is quite small (such as approximately 15mm x 15mm), in contrast with a more conventional antenna which may be formed by embedding several (such as 4 or 5) turns of wire around a periphery of the of the inlay substrate or card body of the secure document, in which case the overall antenna area may be approximately 80mm x 50mm (approximately 20 times larger).
  • the resulting entity may be referred to as an "antenna module”.
  • a coil assembly for use in an inductively powered transponder includes a primary coil (156) and a secondary coil (158) wrapped around the same coil forming ferrite rod (160).
  • the primary coil's leads (162) are left floating while the secondary coil's leads (164) are connected to the integrated identification circuit of the transponder.
  • a first conductor loop (2) is connected to the semiconductor chip (1) and has at least one winding and a cross- sectional area with approximately the dimensions of the semiconductor chip.
  • At least one second conductor loop (3) has at least one winding, a cross-sectional area with approximately the dimensions of the data carrier configuration and a region forming a third loop (4) with approximately the dimensions of the first conductor loop (2).
  • the third loop (4) inductively couples the first conductor loop (2) and the at least one second conductor loop (3) to one another.
  • a smart card comprises an IC module and an antenna for non-contact transmission.
  • the IC module has both a contact-type function and a non-contact-type function.
  • the IC module and the antenna comprise first and second coupler coils, respectively, which are disposed to be closely coupled to each other, and the IC module and the antenna are coupled in a non-contact state by transformer coupling.
  • Toppan's antenna (4) comprises two similar windings (4a, 4b), which are shown in FIG. 17A disposed on opposite sides of a substrate (5), one substantially atop the other.
  • a coupler coil (3) is associated with the card antenna (4).
  • Another coupler coil (8) is associated with the chip module (6).
  • the two coupler coils (3, 8) are of approximately the same size and are disposed substantially one atop the other.
  • Distributed Inter-Turn Capacity discloses a method for adjusting frequency tuning of a resonant circuit with turns having a regular spacing generating stray inter-turn capacity.
  • a coupling device is formed by a continuous conductive path having a central section (12) and two extremity sections (11, 1 ), the central section (12) forming at least a small spiral for inductive coupling with the transponder device, the extremities sections (11, 11 ') forming each one large spiral for inductive coupling with the reader device.
  • the inner end of the outer extremity section (11) and the outer end of the inner extremity section (1 ) are connected with the coupler coil (12).
  • the outer end (13) of the outer extremity section (11) and the inner end (13') of the inner extremity section (1 ) are left unconnected (loose).
  • a card body (22) includes a device (18) for concentrating and/or amplifying electromagnetic waves, which can channel the electromagnetic flow received, in particular, from a contactless chip card reader toward the coils of the antenna (13) of the microelectronic module (11).
  • the device (18) for concentrating and/or amplifying electromagnetic waves may consist of a metal sheet disposed in the card body (22) below the cavity (23) receiving the microelectronic module (11), or may consist of an antenna consisting of at least one coil, disposed in the card body (22) below the cavity (23) receiving the microelectronic module (11).
  • a dual interface (DI) smart card comprising a chip module (CM), a module antenna (MA), a card body (CB) and a card antenna (CA) having two windings (D,E) connected with reverse phase as a "quasi-dipole".
  • Capacitive stubs (B,C) connected with an antenna structure (A) of the module antenna (MA).
  • the module antenna (MA) overlaps only one of the windings (D or E) of the card antenna (CA).
  • the card antenna (CA) may be formed from one continuous wire. Ferrite (156) shielding the module antenna (MA) from contact pads (CP) and for enhancing coupling between the module antenna (MA) and the card antenna (CA).
  • a dual interface (DIF) smart card comprises
  • a generally rectangular card body CB which may be of multi-layer construction, measuring approximately 50mm x 80mm, a DIF chip module CM measuring approximately 8mm x 10mm, having metallic contact pads (CP) one side of the chip module CM and a module antenna MA on the other side of the chip module CM, and
  • a card antenna CA extending around the periphery of the card body CB and having approximately the same overall size as the card body CB.
  • the module antenna MA has a number of turns in a flat spiral pattern, may be rounded, oval or generally rectangular having four side edges, and may be substantially the same overall size as the chip module CM.
  • the module antenna may comprise a wire element wound as a flat coil, or may be etched in a flat coil pattern from a conductive layer on an insulating layer (such as epoxy glass film, or tape).
  • the card antenna CA may comprise two windings (or coils) - an outer winding D, and an inner winding E disposed interior of the outer winding D.
  • the inner E and outer D windings are of substantially the same length as each other, each have two ends (or positions) 7, 8, 9, 10 and are connected to have "reverse phase” as a "quasi dipole".
  • the outer end (7) of the outer winding D is connected (or continuous) with the inner end 10 of the inner winding E.
  • the card antenna CA may be formed by conventional wire embedding, or using techniques other than wire embedding such as additive or subtractive processes to form conductive tracks and patterns.
  • the antenna module AM is disposed so that its module antenna MA overlaps one of the inner E or outer D windings, and not the other. No separate coupling coil is required to couple the module antenna MA with the card antenna CA.
  • Various configurations for the card antenna CA are disclosed, such as
  • the antenna module AM is disposed interior the card antenna CA, and the module antenna MA overlaps only the inner winding E.
  • the antenna module AM may be disposed exterior the card antenna CA with its module antenna MA overlapping only the inner winding E, or interior the card antenna CA with its module antenna MA overlapping on the outer winding D.
  • additional one or more antenna modules AMI, AM2 may be provided and coupled with the card antenna CA to provide additional functionality
  • the card antenna CA may alternatively be formed as a single winding which may require many more turns than the "quasi dipole" (two windings D, E connected with “reverse phase”)
  • a shielding element such as ferrite may be incorporated in the antenna module AM between the module antenna MA and the contact pads CP of the chip module CM.
  • the module antenna MA may comprise a "main" antenna structure A and two additional antenna structures B, C which are capacitive stubs extending from ends of the antenna structure A.
  • the antenna module AM may be incorporated in a secure document such as an electronic passport cover, smart card, ID card, or the like.
  • a smart card (100) comprises:
  • an antenna module comprising at least one chip or chip module (CM) and a module antenna (MA);
  • CB card body having at least one surface and a periphery
  • CA card antenna
  • module antenna overlaps at least a portion of the card antenna (CA) for coupling thereto without the intermediary of a coupling coil associated with the card antenna (CA).
  • a method of coupling a chip module (CM) having at least a con tactless mode to a card antenna (CA) disposed on a card body (CB) of a smart card comprising providing a module antenna (MA) in an antenna module (AM) with the chip module (CM), characterized by: providing the card antenna (CA) as "quasi dipole" antenna having two winding portions connected in reverse phase with one another.
  • the card antenna (CA) may have an inner winding (E) and an outer winding (D); and the module antenna (MA) overlaps only one of the inner and outer windings (E, D).
  • a pre-laminated array of a special antenna configuration used in the production of contact & contactless transaction cards is also a major advancement over the unreliable interconnection between a chip card module and an embedded antenna in a card body.
  • Secure printers can use their existing smart card milling and chip module implanting systems to produce EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) compatible dual interface cards.
  • EMV Europay, MasterCard and VISA
  • Some features may include different sheet layouts to match printing press format, read/write distance optimized to each RFID chip, excellent mechanical and electrical characteristics, and easy integration into existing smart card production process.
  • FIGs are generally diagrams. Some elements in the figures may be exaggerated, others may be omitted, for illustrative clarity. Although the invention is generally described in the context of various exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to these particular embodiments, and individual features of various embodiments may be combined with one another.
  • FIGs. 1A, IB are cross-sectional views of DIF smart cards, according to the invention.
  • FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of a coil subassembly for an antenna module (AM) of a smart card, according to the invention.
  • FIG. ID is a cross-sectional view of a DIF smart card, according to the invention.
  • FIG. IE is a cross-sectional view of a DI chip module, according to the invention.
  • FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an antenna module (AM), according to the invention.
  • FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view diagram of the antenna module (AM) of FIG. 2A.
  • FIG. 3A is a diagram of a card antenna (CA) for a smart card, according to the invention.
  • FIG. 3B is an equivalent circuit diagram of reactive components (capacitances and inductances) associated with the card antenna (CA) of FIG. 3A.
  • FIG. 4A is a diagram (plan view) of a configuration of a card antenna CA, according to some embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the configuration shown in FIG. 4A.
  • FIGs, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H are diagrams (plan view) of configurations of a card antenna CA, according to some embodiments of the invention.
  • FIGs. 41, 4J are cross-sectional views of smart cards with configurations of a card antenna (CA), according to some embodiments of the invention.
  • CA card antenna
  • FIGs. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F, 5G, 5H are diagrams (plan view) of various configurations for the card antenna (CA) and various means of interacting with one or more antenna modules AMs, according to some embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of a technique for applying a mobile phone sticker (MPS) to a cell phone
  • FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a shielding element used in the technique for applying a mobile phone sticker (MPS) to a cell phone, according to some embodiments of the invention.
  • MPS mobile phone sticker
  • FIGs. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D are perspective views of steps involved in a method for making antenna modules (AMs), according to some embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 7E is a perspective view of a smart card implementing some of the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein.
  • FIG. 7F is a perspective view of a portion of a card body CB with an antenna wire passing through a recess for an antenna module AM.
  • transponders in the form of secure documents which may be smart cards or national ID cards may be discussed as exemplary of various features and embodiments of the invention(s) disclosed herein. As will be evident, many features and embodiments may be applicable to (readily incorporated in) other forms of secure documents, such as electronic passports.
  • antenna structures formed by embedding wire in an inlay substrate or card body are discussed as exemplary.
  • the antenna may be formed using a processes other than by embedding wire in a substrate, such as additive or subtractive processes such as printed antenna structures, coil winding techniques (such as disclosed in US 6,295,720), antenna structures formed on a separate antenna substrate and transferred to the inlay substrate (or layer thereof), antenna structures etched (including laser etching) from a conductive layer on the substrate, conductive material deposited in channels of a substrate layer, or the like.
  • the card antenna CA (and other features) disclosed herein may increase the effective operative distance between the antenna module AM and an external contactless reader with capacitive and inductive coupling. It transfers the energy to the antenna module AM by concentrating the magnetic field generated by a reader antenna at the position where the antenna module AM is located.
  • FIG. 1A illustrates a DIF smart card comprising:
  • a DIF chip module CM disposed on an underside of a substrate or module tape MT;
  • the substrate MT supports and effects interconnections between the chip module CM, contact pads CP and module antenna MA, and may be single-sided, having metallization on only one side, or double-sided, having metallization on both sides.
  • the chip module CM may be connected in any suitable manner, such as flip-chip connected (as illustrated in FIG. 1A) or wire bonded (as illustrated in FIG. IB to the module tape MT.
  • chip module includes one or more bare semiconductor dice (chips).
  • a “hybrid” chip module may comprise a chip for contact interface and a chip for contactless interface, or the like.
  • US 6,378,774 Topicpan, 2002
  • US 2010/0176205 SPS, 2010
  • two chip solution wherein one chip performs the contact function and the other chip performs the contactless function.
  • chip module CM
  • chip tape MT contact pads CP
  • module antenna MA consitute an "antenna module” AM.
  • the smart card further comprises:
  • a substrate which for smart cards may be referred to as a "card body” CB.
  • the substrate would be an “inlay substrate”.
  • CBA card body antenna
  • CA simply card antenna
  • card body CB is intended to embrace any substrate supporting card antenna CA and receiving the antenna module AM.
  • a recess may be provided in the card body for receiving the antenna module AM.
  • Some exemplary and/or approximate dimensions, materials and specifications may be:
  • CM Chip Module
  • Antenna Module 15mm x 15mm and 300 ⁇ thick
  • Module Antenna (MA): several windings of 50 ⁇ copper wire, approximately the size of the chip module CM (and not greater in size then the AM)
  • Card body CB 50mm x 80mm, 300 ⁇ thick, polycarbonate (PC).
  • the card body and its card antenna are significantly (such as 20 times) larger than the chip module CM and its module antenna MA.
  • Card Antenna CA 3-12 turns of 112 ⁇ copper, self-bonding wire, ultrasonically embedded in the card body CB,
  • FIG. 1A illustrates a contact reader having contacts for interacting (providing power and exchanging data) with the chip module CM via the contact pads CP in a contact mode (ISO 7316), and a contactless reader having an antenna for interacting with the chip module CM via the card antenna CA and the module antenna MA.
  • FIG. IB illustrates (exploded view) an overall construction of a DIF smart card 100 comprising an epoxy glass substrate (MT) 102 having a number of contact pads (CP) 104 on its top (as viewed) surface for making a contact interface with an external reader in a "contact mode" of operation;
  • MT epoxy glass substrate
  • CP contact pads
  • a number of bond pads 106 may be disposed on an opposite surface of the tape 102; a DIF chip module (CM) 108 having a number (only two shown) of bond pads 110 on a front (bottom, as viewed) surface thereof;
  • CM DIF chip module
  • a module antenna (MA) 112 comprising (for example) several turns of wire, such as in a 3x8 configuration (3 layers, each layer having 8 turns), and having two ends 112a and 112b.
  • the chip module 108 may be mounted to the underside (as viewed) of the tape 102 with its contact pads 110 connected such as by conventional wire bonding to selected ones of the bond pads 106 on the underside (as viewed) of the tape 102. Only two of the wire bond connections 114a and 114b are shown, for illustrative clarity. Alternatively, for at least some of the connections, openings (not shown) may be provided through the tape 102 for wire bonding directly to the underside of the contact pads 104.
  • the metallization on the front (top) surface of the tape 102 may include areas (not shown) for connecting the ends 112a, 112b of the module antenna 112 and effecting interconnects (routing).
  • the module antenna 112 is connected by its ends 112a, 112b such as be thermo compression bonding to two of the bond pads 106 on the underside of the tape 102, as indicated.
  • a card body (CB) 120 for the smart card has a larger card antenna (CA) 122 embedded just inward of its periphery.
  • the module antenna 112 couples (electro-magnetically) with the card antenna 122 to improve coupling of the smart card with an external con tactless reader.
  • the card antenna 122 may be formed on the card body 120 using conventional ultrasonic wire embedding techniques.
  • a material exhibiting electromagnetic coupling properties such as ferrite, may be disposed as a thin film 124 on surface of the card body 120 or may be incorporated or embedded as particles 126 in the card body 120, or both (film and particles), in any desired pattern.
  • ferrite as a material to enhance coupling or to shield (prevent) coupling is discussed herein as exemplary of a material exhibiting high electromagnetic permeability, often being used in one form or another in conjunction with antennas. See, for example, US 5,084,699 (Trovan).
  • FIG. 1C illustrates a construction of a coil sub-assembly 130 for a smart card such as the DIF smart card 100 of FIG. IB.
  • a coil of wire 112 for the module antenna (MA) may be wound, using any suitable coil-winding tool, and disposed on a film support layer 132.
  • the module antenna MA may comprise several turns of wire, such as in a 3x8 configuration (3 layers, each layer having 8 turns), and having two ends 112a, 112b.
  • the wire may have a diameter of approximately 80 ⁇ , the resulting module antenna 112 having an overall thickness (or height) of approximately 240 ⁇ (3 x 80 ⁇ ).
  • the module antenna MA may be in the form of a ring (cylinder), having an inner diameter (ID) of approximately 9mm, and an outer diameter of approximately 10mm.
  • the film support layer 132 may be nitrile film, 60 ⁇ thick and have overall outer dimensions of approximately 10- 15mm x 10- 15mm, or approximately twice as large (across, in one dimension) as the module antenna MA which will be mounted thereto.
  • a central opening 134 is provided through the film 132, generally aligned with the position of the module antenna MA, and having a diameter which is nearly as large as the ID of the module antenna MA.
  • the opening 134 may be formed by a punching operation.
  • the opening 134 is for accommodating a chip module (such as 108) and its wire bonds when the antenna module AM is assembled.
  • Two openings 136a and 136b may be provided (in the same punching operation as the central opening 134) through the film 132 for accommodating bonding of the antenna wire ends 112a and 112b, respectively, to the bond pads (106, FIG. IB) on the module tape MT (102).
  • a release liner 138 may be provided on one side of the film 132, such as the side opposite the module antenna MA.
  • the central opening 134 may or may not extend through the release liner 138, which may be paper, having a thickness of approximately 60 ⁇ .
  • the module antenna MA may be secured to the support film 132 with an adhesive (not shown), resulting in what may be referred to as a "module antenna subassembly".
  • a plurality of module antenna subassemblies may be prepared in an array (m x n rows and columns) of subassemblies, or on a continuous tape (1 long row) for later assembly, such as by laminating, to the module tape MT. (Invert the subassembly shown in FIG. 1C, mount to the module tape 102 shown in FIG. IB.)
  • the chip module (108) may then be mounted through the central opening in the module antenna MA to the module tape (102) and connected to the bond pads (106) on the module tape as described hereinabove.
  • the module tape may be "single sided" having only metallization on side thereof, such as for the contact pads CP.
  • openings would extend from the chip module side of the tape to underneath the back sides of the contact pads CP, for connecting thereto.
  • the module antenna connections can also be effected in this manner, to the exposed back surfaces of selected ones of the contact pads.
  • FIG. ID illustrates an exemplary dual interface (DIF) smart card 140 wherein a DIF chip module (CM) 148 is mounted to an interconnection substrate (MT) 142 having contact pads (CP) 144 for a contact interface on one surface (top, as shown) thereof.
  • a coil antenna (MA) 152 is provided for contactless mode, and is connected to the chip module CM via the substrate MT.
  • the module antenna MA is typically on an opposite side (bottom, as shown) of the chip module CM than the contact pads CP.
  • the substrate MT, chip module CM, contact pads CP and coil antenna MA may be referred to as "Antenna Module" (AM).
  • AM Antenna Module
  • the Antenna Module is mounted to a card body (CB) 160 having a card antenna (CA) 162.
  • the module antenna (MA) 152 interacts with the card antenna (CA) 162 which, in turn interacts with the antenna (not shown) of an external reader (not shown).
  • Some particulars may include ...
  • the antenna module and module antenna are relatively small, such as 10mm x 10mm the card body and card antenna are relatively large, such as 50mm x 80mm
  • the module antenna may be substantially directly over a portion of the card antenna (as shown in the figure), the remainder of the card antenna may be distant from the chip module and module antenna.
  • the card antenna may be made with conductive tracks or the like, in other words other than by embedding wire, which is the simplest "conventional" technique.
  • the contact pads CP on the top side of the DIF module are metallic, and therefore may attenuate RF signals passing between the module antenna MA and the card antenna CA.
  • a ferrite element (FE) 156 may be disposed (interposed, inserted) between the chip module and the module antenna - or, in other words, between the contact pads (CP) 144 and the module antenna (MA) 152.
  • the ferrite element FE may cover an area which is at least 50% of the area defined by the chip and antenna, or by the contact pads and represents a passive magnetic element that may increase electromagnetic coupling between the module antenna MA and the card antenna CA, providing for example at least a +3dB increase in signal strength (for signals passing between the module antenna MA and the card antenna CA, in either direction) and a consequent increase in the effective distance between the smart card 140 and an external contactless card reader (FIG. 1A), for example increasing read/write (and energy harvesting) capability from approximately 3 -5cm to approximately 6- 10cm.
  • the ferrite element 156 may be sprayed onto the bottom surface of the chip module prior to installing the module antenna.
  • the ferrite element 156 may be continuous (or contiguous, except for openings permitting connecting the antenna module through the ferrite element to the chip module), or may be discontinuous (for example, a grid or screen).
  • an opening 158 in the ferrite element/layer 156 may be provided for the chip module CM to be mounted to the substrate 142.
  • the ferrite element 156 may have a smooth surface, or may be rippled, or formed with a pattern of "corner reflectors" for enhancing coupling between the module antenna MA and the card antenna CA.
  • the ferrite element 156 may comprise nanostructures such as nanoparticles, nanowires or nanotubes.
  • the ferrite (or other) element 156 may be located other than between the module antenna MA and the chip module CM (contact pads CP), so long as the desired effect is achieved. Materials other than ferrite may be used for the "ferrite element". Any material, such as materials with high electromagnetic permeability, increasing the coupling (efficiency of energy transfer) between the module antenna MA and the card antenna CA may be substituted for ferrite.
  • the chip module of FIG. IB may be implanted in a card body CB which may comprise a die attached and wire bonded to an epoxy glass tape and the connections encapsulated by a dam filled with a transparent UV-casting compound (epoxy resin) having a thickness above the tape of approximately 400 ⁇ .
  • a transparent UV-casting compound epoxy resin
  • the shape of the "Dam & Fill" area protecting the silicon die is round, having approximately a diameter of 6 mm.
  • a ferrite element FE is mounted over the surface of the dam and surrounding area to act as a shield against the attenuation of the electromagnetic field.
  • the wire module antenna MA is mounted onto the ferrite layer and the wire ends are connected by means of thermo compression bonding to the terminal areas on the epoxy glass tape.
  • the chip module CM may comprise a chip having its own antenna (such as in US 6,373,447), either directly coupled with the card antenna CA (without a module antenna MA) or coupled with the module antenna (AM) which is coupled with the card antenna.
  • FIG. IE illustrates a dual-interface chip module (CM )which connects directly with a card antenna (CA) disposed in a card body (CB).
  • CM dual-interface chip module
  • CA card antenna
  • CB card body
  • Contact pads (CP) are provided on a top surface of the chip module (CM) for a contact interface.
  • Two terminals are provided on the bottom surface of the chip module for connecting with the card antenna.
  • a dual-interface (DI) chip may be wire bonded to various contact pads (CP) on the tape substrate of the chip module. Glob-top may be applied to protect the DI chip and wire bonds.
  • a module antenna may be provided, and incorporated with the chip module, for electro-magnetically coupling the chip module to the card antenna.
  • ferrite may be incorporated into a resulting antenna module (AM) to improve coupling between the module antenna and the card antenna.
  • the module antenna (MA) may be a flat wound coil disposed on the glob-top mold mass of the chip module (MA).
  • CM chip modules
  • AM antenna modules
  • FIGs. 2A, 2B illustrate an embodiment of an antenna module (AM) 200 comprising:
  • CM chip module
  • an inductive wire antenna structure (A) 210 formed as a flat coil of embedded wire having a number (such as 12) of turns, and two ends - an outer end 1 (at the end of an outer one of the turns) and an inner end 2 (at an end of an inner one of the turns),
  • the overall length of the antenna A may be 400mm
  • the ends 1 and 2 of the antenna A may be connected to the terminals of the chip module.
  • the chip module may be disposed within (interior to) the turns of the antenna A. o
  • the outer turn of the antenna A may cross over inner turns of the antenna A to be routed to the chip module CM.
  • capacitive antenna extensions (or stubs, or “antenna structures") B and C also formed as flat coils of embedded wire having a number of turns, and connected to the inductive wire antenna as described below.
  • the chip module 208 and antenna A 210 may be disposed in or on a layer 222 of a multi-layer antenna substrate 200.
  • the chip module 208 may be disposed in a recess (pocket) 206 extending partially through the layer 222 (as illustrated), or may be disposed in a recess (opening) extending completely through the layer 222, with the chip module 208 being supported by an underlying layer 224.
  • the chip module is illustrated in FIG. 2B "face up", with its terminals for connecting with the antenna A on its top side.
  • the chip module may be orientated “face down” with its antenna-receiving terminals on its bottom side (and extend through the substrate 222, for example), and another set of terminals (not shown) for a contact interface on its top side.
  • AM 200 may include, but are not limited to ...
  • the antenna A may be on the bottom of the layer 222
  • the stub B 212 may be on the bottom of the layer 224
  • the stub C 214 may be on the bottom of the layer 226 - the stubs B and C may be on the top and bottom surfaces of a single layer which is either above or below the layer 222
  • the stub B 212 may be formed as a flat coil of wire having a number (such as 12) of turns and two ends - an outer end 3 of an outer turn and an inner end 4 of an inner turn - in a layer 224 overlying the layer 222.
  • the stub B may have an overall length of approximately 400mm, and may be aligned with (directly over) the antenna A.
  • the stub C 214 may be formed as a flat coil of wire having a number (such as 12) of turns and two ends - an outer end 5 of an outer turn and an inner end 6 of an inner turn - in a layer 226 underlying the layer 222.
  • the stub C may have an overall length of approximately 400mm, and may be aligned with (directly under) the antenna A.
  • the stub C may be aligned with (directly under) the stub B.
  • the stubs B and C may be formed by etching, printing, or other processes, instead of (other than) using embedded wire.
  • the antenna A and stubs B, C are shown laterally offset from each other.
  • the inductive wire antenna A and capacitive antenna extensions B and C are shown positioned and aligned atop one another.
  • the antenna structures A, B, C may each be formed in a flat coil pattern having a number of turns , an overall length (from end to end), and a footprint (length x width), and may be substantially identical with one another in these regards.
  • the antenna structures A, B, C may be disposed substantially directly over one another.
  • FIG. 2B illustrates that the number of turns, length, width, pitch and pattern of the stubs B, C may be substantially the same (match) as each other and they may be aligned one atop the other in layers of the antenna module 200 so that their turns are aligned with one another, turn-for-turn.
  • the stubs B, C may also substantially match and be aligned with the antenna A.
  • Capacitance and the resonant circuit is formed between A + B and A + C.
  • Antenna A is shown disposed in a layer between the layers for stubs B and C.
  • Antenna A could alternatively be disposed in a layer above or below both of the layers for stubs B and C.
  • Dashed lines ( ) indicate that the inner end 4 of the stub B 212 may be connected to the outer end 1 of the antenna A 210, such as at the terminal 208b, and the outer end 5 of the stub C may be is connected to the inner end 2 of the antenna A, such as at the terminal 208b.
  • the outer end 3 of the stub B and the inner end 6 of the stub C may be left unconnected (remain open).
  • the vertical arrows (j, ⁇ ) indicate that the outer end 3 of the stub B may be connected to the outer end 1 of the antenna A (such as at terminal 208b), and the inner end of stub C may be connected with the inner end of the antenna A.
  • connection in an opposite sense means that the inner end of one of the two stubs (B or C) is connected with one end of the antenna (A), and the outer end of the other of the two stubs (C or B) is connected with the other end of the antenna (A). It is generally not desirable that the "same” (such as both inner) ends of the stubs are connected with the ends of the antenna A.
  • the connections (interconnects) discussed herein can be made in any conventional manner, such as by vias through layers, traces on layers, bonding, soldering, crimping, welding, etc.
  • Locating the stubs B and C over each other in close proximity with the antenna A between them forms additional resonant circuits between the A and the stubs B, C realized by the stray capacitance between the antenna structures A, B, C.
  • the interaction between the coupled stubs B and C exposed to the same electromagnetic field from the antenna A may advantageously reduce the self-resonance (or self-resonant) frequency of the antenna A.
  • Stub B is close to antenna A and stub C is close to antenna A, ergo stub B is close to stub C.
  • capacitors and inductors have parasitic inductance and capacitance, respectively.
  • the inductance is primarily due to the physical dimensions including the leads. Since a capacitor and inductor in series creates an oscillating circuit, all capacitors and inductors will oscillate when stimulated with a step impulse. The frequency of this oscillation is the self- resonant frequency (SRF).
  • SRF self- resonant frequency
  • the dimensions of the antenna module AM may be approximately 10-15mm x 10-15mm, and it may of course be round, rather than rectangular. Due to the relatively small available area, an inductive wire loop of the size of the antenna module may have a self-resonance frequency of approximately 75 MHz.
  • the over-layered close-coupled antenna structures may function as a wire formed capacitor - with open wire ends (3 and 6) - that may reduce the resonance frequency of the formed transponder to a more desirable value of approximately 13 ⁇ 17 MHz, thereby increasing the voltage and transferred power to the chip module.
  • This principle of over-layered close-coupled wire (or other conductive trace) antenna structures (stubs B and C) facilitates reducing the space consumption of the antenna A to a minimum, by moving the additional wire turns of structures (stubs) B, C to separate planes.
  • This principle may be more efficient than connecting a number of inductive wire antennas (with all wire ends connected) in series or in parallel.
  • Capacitive extensions for the antenna A could be formed by creating more conventional conductive surfaces (plates) to offset the resonant frequency.
  • An advantage of using wire is ease of creation using wire embedding technology, and better utilization of space.
  • the antenna module may have very limited space restrictions.)
  • FIG. 3A illustrates a card antenna 350 in the overall form of a substantially planar, generally rectangular spiral of wire embedded in a card body (CB, not shown) and comprising two distinct portions (or windings, or antenna structures, or “poles”) 352, 354, as follows:
  • each of the outer portion D and inner winding E may have an overall length of approximately 1200mm.
  • the inner and outer winding have substantially the same length as one another.
  • the inner winding E and the outer winding D are both considered to be “antenna structures" for the card antenna CA. (Compare “antenna structures” A, B, and C for the module antenna MA.)
  • the inner winding E and the outer winding D are connect as a "quasi dipole" with “reverse phase”.
  • the outer end 7 of the outer winding D is connected with the inner end 10 of the inner winding E, in any suitable manner, such as by using a separate jumper or conductive trace within the substrate.
  • the connection "j" is labeled 356, and may simply be a node.
  • the inner end 8 of the outer winding D and the outer end 9 of the inner winding E are left unconnected.
  • the inner and outer windings E,D may be coupled in close proximity and voltages induced in the inner and outer windings E,D have opposite phase from one another, may be formed in the same layer as one another with the inner winding E disposed interior of the outer winding D, may be formed in layers overlying each other, substantially aligned with one another, may be formed as flat coils of embedded wire, or other than embedded wire, having a number of turns and an overall length of approximately 1200mm.
  • the coupling antenna 350 may be formed in a substrate (or card body) using conventional wire embedding techniques (a sonotrode with ultrasonic, such as described in US 6,233,818), for example as follows:
  • stop embedding turn off the ultrasonics, lift the sonotrode
  • a portion "a" of the wire forming the connection "j" may pass over the two (as illustrated) already-laid turns of the inner winding E, and a portion “b” may pass under the two (as illustrated) to-be-laid turns of the outer winding E. (D), all of this happening at the bottom of the pattern (essentially a common position vis-a-vis each of the turns, i.e., at "6 o'clock”).
  • the wire connection "j" passing under the turns of the outer antenna structure it will be understood that the wire connection "j”. may simply be embedded in the surface of the substrate (card body), and as the turns of the outer winding D are laid, embedding temporarily ceases so the turns can jump over the embedded wire connection "j".
  • the outer end 9 of the inner winding E and the inner end 8 of the outer winding D may be left open (not connected with anything).
  • the portion "b" of the wire connection "j". which passes under the turns of the outer antenna structure D may be laid in a channel previously formed in the substrate (card body), such as by laser ablation, which may obviate the need to turn off the ultrasonics during laying the outer antenna structure to jump over the wire connection "j".
  • the inner and outer windings are coupled in close proximity and the effect is additive since the induced voltage of the inner winding E has opposite phase (phase inversion) than the voltage induced in the outer winding D.
  • Reactive coupling (capacitance and inductance) of the inner winding E and the outer winding D permits the card antenna CA to be realized with fewer turns than would otherwise be possible.
  • Toppan also requires a separate coupling coil (3)
  • the inner winding E and the outer winding D may be formed as one continuous structure, without a separate jumper or trace, using conventional wire embedding techniques, for example as follows:
  • connection bridge or "integral jumper” 356.
  • a separate “jumper” would be used to connect the ends 7 and 10.
  • connection bridge 356 passes over the turns of the inner winding E, and a portion “b” of the connection bridge 356 passes under the turns of the outer winding D.
  • connection bridge 356 which passes under the turns of the outer winding D may be laid in a channel previously formed in the substrate (card body), such as by laser ablation, which may obviate the need to turn off the ultrasonics during laying the outer antenna winding D to jump over the connection bridge 356.
  • the card antenna CA may comprise insulated 80 ⁇ copper wire (0: 80 ⁇ ), 46mm x 76mm (slightly smaller than the card), pitch of the turns 300 ⁇ , resonant frequency 13.56 MHz.
  • FIG. 3B illustrates, schematically, the card antenna 350 consisting of an outer winding D and an inner winding E, and is intended as a non-limiting example for describing how the card antenna may function.
  • the outer winding D has 3 turns modeled by inductances LI, L2 and L3
  • the inner winding E has 3 turns modeled by inductances L4, L5 and L6. All inductances (L) are influenced by the coupling between all coils.
  • the capacitances CI ⁇ C6 are the coil inherent stray capacitances.
  • the capacitances C7 ⁇ C9 describe the interaction between the two windings D and E, in case of tight coupling between the inner and outer windings.
  • the capacitances (C) can be influenced by wire pitch, the inductances (L) by the number of turns.
  • the self-resonant frequency of the card antenna 350 is created by the stray capacitance forming between the windings D and E, taken alone without interfering each other). Having only one winding structure (rather than two) would result in a higher than desired self- resonant frequency, such as approximately 40 ⁇ 50 MHz.
  • the self -resonant frequency may be reduced by (1) increasing numbers of turns (inductance) or (2) increasing of capacity (reducing wire pitch). Increasing numbers of turns increases inductance and lowers self-resonant frequency. In the case wire ends 8 and 9 are connected and 7 and 10 remain open, a standard coil would be formed with the number of both wire structures added. This would result in a certain self-resonant frequency (e.g. 50 ⁇ 60 MHz). Connecting the windings D and E as shown reduces the self-resonant frequency to approximately 13 - 17 MHz with the same number of turns or length of wire.
  • the card antenna CA is generally in the form of a rectangular spiral extending around the perimeter of the card body CB.
  • the card body CB may be omitted, for illustrative clarity.
  • the card antenna is intended to work with an antenna module functioning in the contactless mode, including but not limited to DIF modules, and also including semiconductor chips having their own “on chip” antennas (such as disclosed in US 6,373,447).
  • the card antenna CA is in the form of a "quasi-dipole" having two interconnected windings (or “poles”). These two windings should have substantially the same number of turns, the same length and the same pitch as one another, and be spaced as closely as possible to each other over much of their perimeter. They may be wound with the same "sense” (clockwise or anticlockwise). Variations in any of these parameters (length, pitch, spacing, sense) are of course possible, some of which are discussed herein.
  • FIGs. 4A, 4B show the card antenna CA with an exemplary antenna module AM positioned for coupling with the card antenna CA.
  • the antenna module AM comprises a DIF chip module CM and module antenna MA for contactless mode, and contact pads CP for contact mode.
  • a card body CB is provided with the card antenna CA, which may be a two-winding "quasi-dipole" having an inner winding E and an outer winding D, as described above.
  • the card antenna CA may be formed using 112 ⁇ self-bonding wire, or may be formed as conductive traces using any additive (such as printing) or subtractive (such as etching) processes.
  • the antenna module AM is generally rectangular, having four side edges.
  • the module antenna MA is also generally rectangular, having four side edges.
  • the card antenna CA is also generally rectangular, having four side edges.
  • the various "rectangular" antenna structures (A, B, C, D, E, MA, CA) will normally have rounded edges, also that the module antenna MA may be formed as a round coil or may simply be round or oval.
  • the antenna module AM is disposed (positioned in the smart card) so that the at least one of the four side edges of the module antenna MA overlaps at least some of the turns of only the inner winding E of the card antenna CA, for efficient coupling thereto (preferably without also overlapping any of the outer winding D). No separate coupling coil is required.
  • the antenna module AM, particularly its module antenna MA may overlap the outer winding D rather than the inner winding E. However, it is important that the antenna module AM, particularly its module antenna MA, does not overlap both of the inner winding E and outer winding D.
  • the unconnected ends 8 and 9 of the card antenna CA may be located nearby each other in the middle between the inner winding E and the outer winding D.
  • the card antenna forms a resonance circuit for the operating frequency (approx. 13 - 17 MHz).
  • connection “j” forces the electrical potential of points (or ends) 7 , 10 to the same level.
  • the connection “j” causes a phase inversion and has an additive effect.
  • the optimized self-resonance frequency of the card antenna CA may be approximately 13 - 17 MHz, which may create the closest coupling between the card antenna CA and the module antenna MA, resulting in enhanced (increased) read/write distance with respect to an external reader.
  • the arrangement of the antenna module AM with its module antenna MA physically overlapping and directly coupling to a two winding card antenna CA is in stark contrast with US 6,378,774 (Toppan) and US2009/0152362 (Assa Abloy), both of which rely on a separate coupler coil in addition to a two winding card antenna to effect coupling with the module antenna.
  • This direct coupling feature of the invention is attributable to the way the inner winding E is connected with the outer winding D so that they are "reverse phased", and overlapping the module antenna MA onto only one or the other of the inner and outer windings.
  • FIG. 4C shows a variation of the card antenna, here designated "F" (rather than CA), having only one continuous coil of wire (rather than two windings) and having two ends 11 and 12 which are left unconnected.
  • the antenna module AM with its module antenna MA is positioned to overlap at least one of the side edges of the card antenna F. In this illustration, the module antenna MA overlaps all of the turns of the card antenna F.
  • this single winding configuration may require more (such as 20) turns of wire to be as effective as the "quasi dipole" configurations which may have only 3 or 4 turns for each of the inner winding E and outer winding D. More turns require more area, which can be a problem for smart cards. More turns also results in a stiffer antenna structure, which may cause mechanical problems such as microcracking in the card body CB. For electronic passports, the single winding configuration may be more practical than for smart cards. In any of the embodiments of card antenna CA disclosed herein, the wire may be "meandering" to address some of these problems.
  • Coatings such as in the form of particles or nanoparticles can be applied to one or both sides of a such as the card body CB. (See FIG. IB, coating 124). Conductive coatings can be applied to form capacitances, and can be applied to be in contact with portions of the inner E and outer D windings. Such additional capacitances may improve performance of the card antenna CA. This may be particularly beneficial with the single winding configuration of FIG. 4C, to reduce the number of turns required.
  • FIG. 4D shows a variation of the card antenna, designated CA, which is similar to the card antenna CA of FIG. 4A, except that here the two windings E and D are interleaved with one another, rather than the one winding E being disposed entirely inside of the other winding D.
  • the ends 7, 8, 9, 10 of the windings D and E are comparable to the ends 7, 8, 9, 10 of the windings D and E of the card antenna CA of FIG. 4A, and are connected so that the card antenna CA is similarly configured as a "quasi dipole".
  • FIG. 4E shows a variation of the card antenna CA where at least a portion of the inner winding E is spaced further apart from the outer winding D where the antenna module AM will be overlapping the card antenna CA.
  • an entire side (right, as viewed) of the inner winding E is spaced farther from the outer winding D than the other three sides of the inner winding E.
  • This increased spacing makes it easier to position the antenna module AM so that its module antenna MA overlaps all of the turns of the inner winding E without overlapping any of the turns of the outer winding D.
  • increasing the spacing between the inner winding and the outer winding may cause some loss of efficiency.
  • FIG. 4F shows a variation of increased spacing.
  • the inner winding E being spaced farther from the corresponding side of the outer winding D
  • only a relatively small portion of the side (here shown as the bottom side) of the inner winding is caused to be farther away from the outer winding D, only where the antenna module AM needs to overlap for coupling of the module antenna MA to the inner winding E of the card antenna CA.
  • An advantage of this arrangement is preserving the desirable close spacing of the winding E and the winding D over most of the card antenna CA. (The spacing is compromised only specifically where the module antenna MA will be interacting with the card antenna CA.)
  • FIG. 4G illustrates a variation wherein rather than the inner and outer windings having the same "sense" (such as both anti-clockwise, as in FIG. 4A), the inner and outer windings of the card antenna CA are formed having an opposite sense from one another.
  • the outer winding D is formed (from end 7 to end 10) with an anti-clockwise sense
  • the inner winding E is formed (from the end 9 to the end 10) with a clockwise sense.
  • the "7/10" connection of the outer end 7 of the outer winding D to the inner end 10 of the inner winding E is the same as before (FIG. 4A), and the inner end 8 of the outer winding and the outer end 9 of the inner winding E are left unconnected, as before.
  • FIG. 4H illustrates a variation wherein the ends of the inner and outer windings are connected opposite to how the are connected in previous examples (inner end of inner winding to outer end of outer winding). Based on the "opposite sense" configuration of FIG. 4G, here the inner end 8 of the outer winding D is connected with the outer end 9 of the inner winding, and the outer end 7 of the outer winding D and the inner end 10 of the inner winding E are left unconnected.
  • connection “8/9” can be made while laying (embedding) the wire, just by making a "U-turn", so that the card antenna (CA) is one uninterrupted length of wire (mentioned previously as an alternative to a separate jumper joining the two windings, in the discussion of FIG. 3A).
  • CA card antenna
  • This configuration may increase the resonance frequency of the card antenna CA to a level which is not beneficial at 13.56 MHz operation.
  • FIG. 41 illustrates a variation wherein the two windings of the "quasi-dipole" card antenna CA are stacked one atop the other, such as one winding F on a top surface of a layer of the card body CB and the other winding G on a bottom surface of the layer.
  • the two windings F and G are in clearly different planes, whereas in previous embodiments the windings D and E were in substantially the same plane.
  • the two windings F and G are similar to one another, and may be connected (not shown) with "reverse phase”.
  • this result may be obtained by providing a shielding material, such as ferrite, between the module antenna MA and the winding of the card antenna CA desired to be shielded, while the other winding of the card antenna CA is not shielded.
  • a shielding material such as ferrite
  • a layer of ferrite material could be disposed between the top surface of the card body CB and the winding F, below the top winding F . This allows for and may also tend to increase coupling of the module antenna MA with the winding F on top of the card body CB, while attenuating coupling with the winding G below the card body CB.
  • the thickness of the substrate determines the permeability and therefore the efficiency of the coupling effect between the two windings F and G.
  • the dielectric medium may be a polymer like polycarbonate or TeslinTM.
  • FIG. 4J illustrates another example of shielding one of the two windings of a "quasi-dipole" card antenna CA.
  • the windings may be inner and outer, as described with respect to FIG. 4A, and both disposed on the top surface of the card body CB.
  • the inner winding E is interior the outer winding D.
  • a shielding material such as ferrite may be selectively applied over the outer winding D at a location where the antenna module AM may otherwise interact with the outer winding D. Additional ferrite material may be applied under the card body CB at the same location to further minimize undesirable coupling of the antenna module with the outer winding D.
  • the shielding material should only be applied at a location on the card body CB or the bottom or outer winding (G or D, namely the winding with which it is sought to minimize coupling with the module antenna MA), and it should generally be avoided to shield the remaining majority of the bottom or outer winding (G or D) since the bottom or outer winding serves an important role in coupling with an antenna of an external con tactless reader (refer to FIG. 1A).
  • the card antenna CA is substantially in the form of a planar, rectangular spiral (with the exception of the configuration in FIG. 41 where two planes are established), and one side edge of the antenna module AM overlaps at least a portion of the card antenna CA, generally only one of the two windings thereof.
  • two or more edges of the antenna module AM may overlap one (or the other) of the two windings (D or E) of the card antenna CA
  • two or more antenna modules may be provided in the smart card, each interacting with the card antenna CA, and possibly with each other.
  • antenna modules AMs will be shown on a card body CB with "simplified" showings of the card antenna CA. Some details, such as the interconnection of ends of the inner and outer windings may be omitted, for illustrative clarity.
  • any suitable contactless (or DIF) antenna module AM (or chip module, or chip with integrated antenna) may be used to interact with the exemplary configurations for the card antennas CA, including commercially-available antenna module products which may only the antenna A (without the capacitive stubs B, C).
  • the various patterns for antenna structures are shown as "generally rectangular”. It should be understood that other patterns may be suitable, such as oval to avoid sharp corners, or zigzag (meandering) to increase the overall length of the antenna structures, alleviate increasing stiffness of the card body CB, and the like.
  • FIG. 5A shows an embodiment of a card antenna CA having an inner winding E and an outer winding D on a card body CB.
  • a first antenna module AMI is disposed to overlap the inner winding E of the card antenna CA at one side (right, as viewed) thereof, and may be a DIF antenna module such as has been described above.
  • the module antenna MA overlaps at least a portion of the card antenna CA for coupling thereto without the intermediary of a coupling coil associated with the card antenna CA.
  • one side of a rectangular-shaped module antenna MA is shown overlapping the inner winding E of the card antenna CA.
  • the module antenna MA may have another shape, such as round or oval, and it may overlap the outer winding D rather than the inner winding E.
  • the overlap between the module antenna MA and the card antenna CA is increased such as by overlapping two sides of a rectangular module antenna MA with the selected portion of the card antenna CA.
  • a second antenna module AM2 having its own module antenna MA is disposed to overlap the inner winding E of the card antenna CA at another side (left, as viewed) thereof, and may be a contactless only antenna module for multi-application transponders, providing additional security, and the like. Both of the antenna modules AMI and AM2 are coupled to the same, inner winding E of the card antenna CA, and can communicate with each other as well as with an external reader (see FIG. 1A).
  • FIG. 5B shows an example of coupling two side edges of an antenna module AM3 to the card antenna CA.
  • the antenna module AM3 is disposed at a corner of the rectangular card antenna CA, such as the top right corner so that the top and right side edges of the antenna module AM3 overlap the a portion of the top and right edges of the inner winding E.
  • This is a suitable location for a contactless-only (ISO 14443) antenna module AM3. Locating a DIF antenna module with contact pads at this location on a smart card may be prohibited by other prescribed form factors (such as embossing areas).
  • Two-edge coupling of the module antenna MA to the card antenna CA may provide greater coupling than one-edge coupling (other factors being equal).
  • FIG. 5C shows another example of coupling two side edges of the antenna module AM to the card antenna CA.
  • the card antenna CA deviates from rectangular in that in the upper right corner (as viewed) it angles in from the top edge of the card for a distance, then angles out to the right edge of the card body CB, these two right angles resulting in an "L- shaped" path (jog, cutout) at the upper right hand corner of the card antenna CA, approximately the size of an antenna module AM.
  • the antenna module AM3 was in the upper right corner of the smart card, and could not have a contact interface.
  • the antenna module AM can be disposed midway up the card body CB, the same as in any FIGs. 4A, 4C, 4D, 4G, 4H, 5 A, and can therefore suitably be a DIF antenna module having contact pads.
  • a second contactless only antenna module could be disposed in the top right corner of the card body CB, where it would be coupled with the outer winding D to provide additional features, as discussed above with respect to FIG. 5A.
  • FIG. 5D shows a configuration wherein the card antenna CA deviates from rectangular in that it has a "U-shaped" jog (or cutout) comprising two right angles, extending inward from the right edge of the card antenna CA, midway up the card body CB, suitable shaped and sized to accommodate an antenna module AM disposed midway up the card body CB which and can suitably be a DIF antenna module having contact pads.
  • the antenna module AM couples with the inner winding E
  • FIG. 5D the antenna module AM couples with the outer winding D.
  • the "U-shaped" cutout allows for coupling 3 sides of the antenna module AM with the card antenna CA, and a consequent increase in coupling efficiency.
  • the antenna module AM overlaps the outer winding D rather than the inner winding E.
  • a second antenna module could be added in the manner of FIG. 5A (AM2), the second antenna module being coupled with the other, inner winding E. Recall that these couplings are relevant primarily to the contactless mode, and coupling each of two antenna modules to different ones of the two coupling antenna windings (D or E) may provide additional capability.
  • FIG. 5E shows a configuration wherein the card antenna CA deviates from rectangular in that it has a "U-shaped" projection extending outward from the right edge of the card antenna, midway up the card body CB, suitable shaped and sized to accommodate an antenna module AM disposed midway up the card body CB which and can suitably be a DIF antenna module having contact pads.
  • FIG. 5D which has an inward jog and the antenna module AM is disposed external to the card antenna CA, coupling with the outer winding D.
  • the card antenna CA projects outward, the antenna module AM is disposed interior to the card antenna CA and couples with the inner winding E.
  • This configuration provides for 3 -side coupling of the antenna module AM with the inner winding E of the card antenna CA. (Recall that the configuration of FIG. 5D also provided for 3-sided coupling, but with the outer winding D.)
  • AMI antenna module
  • FIG. 5F shows a configuration wherein the card antenna CA deviates from rectangular in that it has a "U-shaped” projection extending outward from the right edge of the card antenna, midway up the card body CB, in a manner identical (for discussion purposes) to the a "U-shaped" projection in FIG. 5E, and similarly, a DIF antenna module AMI is disposed in the projection.
  • an additional antenna module AM2 can be disposed midway up the card body CB, on the left side of the card antenna CA, and can suitably be a second DIF antenna module having contact pads.
  • a third antenna module AM3 can be disposed in the upper right corner (as shown) of the card antenna CA, outside of the card antenna CA, so as to couple with the outer winding D of the card antenna CA.
  • the third antenna module AM3 or yet another antenna module could be disposed in the lower right corner of the card antenna CA.
  • FIG. 5G is a diagram showing an upper right corner of a card body CB with a card antenna CA.
  • the outer winding D (solid lines) has 4 turns of wire, and is close to the exterior edge of the card body CB.
  • the inner winding E (dashed lines) has 4 turns of wire, is located inside of the outer winding D, towards the interior of the card body CB.
  • the module antenna MA overlaps the inner winding E
  • the two windings E, D may have substantially the same number of turns (such as 3 or 4, each), the same length and the same pitch as one another, and be spaced as closely as possible to each other over much of their perimeter.
  • the spacing between the outermost turn(s) of the inner winding E and the innermost turn(s) of the outer winding D should be maintained as close as possible, in order to maximize the reactive coupling.
  • the card antenna CA may be fine-tuned (resonance frequency adjusted) altering the pitch of the outermost turns of the outer winding D (compare US 7928918, Gemalto) the outermost turn(s) of the inner winding E should be as close as possible to the innermost turn(s) of the outer winding D for effective coupling of the two windings E, D
  • FIG. 5H illustrates a configuration for the card antenna CA similar to FIG. 5C. Only two turns for each of the inner E and outer D windings are shown, for illustrative clarity (typically they would have 3 or 4 turns, each). Instead of an "L" shaped jog formed with right angles (FIG. 5C), the inner E and outer D windings follow a more "gentle" arcuate (curving) path, including a radiussed portion where a circular module antenna MA will overlap the inner winding E, such as with 90-degrees of its circumference (compare coupling with one or more edges of a rectangular module antenna MA, as discussed above). Generally, the objective is to cover as much overlapped surface area as possible between the card antenna CA and the module antenna MA.
  • This configuration illustrates an antenna module AM with a round module antenna MA, and the card antenna CA is patterned to provide an opportunity for substantial overlap at an appropriate location on the card body CB.
  • the turns of the winding can be spread slightly to accommodate the free ends 8, 9 ends which are located in the middle of the card antenna CA. .
  • a ferrite layer with high magnetic permeability can be integrated into an intermediate layer of a card body, with said layer hosting an area of resin with magnetic fillers, ferrite nanoparticles in a polymer or a sheet of sintered ferrite, for the purpose of reducing eddy current losses and to decouple the RFID tag from an underlying metal surface such as the metal casing of a battery in a mobile telephone.
  • This shielding in the HF band prevents attenuation of the carrier wave (13.56 MHz) caused by inducing eddy currents on the metal surface of the battery. Without shielding, the eddy currents create a magnetic field reversing the direction of the carrier wave.
  • FIG. 6A illustrates a cell phone 650 having a display and a keypad on its front surface (facing down in the figure), and containing a battery pack ("battery").
  • a contactless RFID device (“tag") 660 is disposed on the back (top, as viewed) surface of the phone.
  • the tag 660 has an antenna 662 inside for interacting with an external RFID reader 680.
  • the antenna 662 may be a conventional antenna integral with the tag.
  • the reader 680 also has an antenna 682 associated therewith, typically much larger than illustrated.
  • the tag 660 is exemplary of a mobile phone sticker (MPS) which may be used for e-payment, e- ticketing, loyalty and access control applications.
  • MPS mobile phone sticker
  • a ferrite (or other suitable material) shielding element 670 is disposed between the back of the cell phone 650 and the tag 660 to alleviate attenuation of coupling between the tag and the reader.
  • the element may be in the form of a film or tape, and may have adhesive on both sides for sticking the contactless tag to the phone. Double-sided tapes having adhesive on both sides are well known, such as for mounting carpets.
  • FIG. 6B shows the ferrite shielding element 670 may comprise:
  • a core layer (or substrate) 672 which may be in the form of an elongate tape measuring a few centimeters wide and having two surfaces and having ferrite (or other) particles
  • a release layer 678 which will be peeled off and discarded, protecting the top adhesive layer 676.
  • the shielding element is suitably delivered in roll form, similar to common double-back adhesive tape, and the release layer prevents the bottom adhesive layer 674 from sticking to the top adhesive layer 676 when the shielding tape 670 is rolled up (in roll supply form).
  • FIG. 7A illustrates a first step in an exemplary manufacture and assembly of an antenna module (AM) comprising:
  • module tape such as conventional "super 35mm” tape
  • PTH plated through holes
  • FIG. 7B illustrates a further step in the manufacture and assembly of the antenna module (AM).
  • the foil is laser etched to have a number (such as six) of contact pads (CP) for contact interface. This is the familiar terminal block of contacts seen on many bank cards and the like.
  • CP contact pads
  • FIGs. 7C, 7D illustrate the opposite side of the module tape MT.
  • the contact pads CP are not visible.
  • Plated Through Holes (PTH) and some interconnects are visible.
  • a DI chip may be mounted to the module tape MT and wire bonded to the plated through holes PTH and interconnects.
  • a module antenna MA may be mounted and connected. Glob-top (a conformal coating of resin) may be applied to protect the die and wire bonds, the module antenna MA acting as a dam for the glob-top.
  • the module antenna MA can be mounted onto the mold mass (glob-top) of the antenna module AM as a flat antenna structure.
  • a ferrite layer may be provided, as discussed hereinabove (FIG. ID, 156) with holes for interconnects (such as wire bonds).
  • FIG. 7C illustrates (right side) that an opening (FIG. ID, 158) may be provided through the ferrite layer to accommodate the die.
  • FIG. 7E shows a DI smart card formed using the antenna module of FIG. 7D, on a card body (CB) having a card antenna (CA).
  • CB card body
  • CA card antenna
  • Channels can be formed in a substrate such as the card body CB for accepting a wire (or conductive material) laid therein, (for example, US 7,028,910 - Schlumberger).
  • a recess can be formed for accepting the antenna module AM. (See FIGs. 1A, 7E).
  • Channels and recesses can be formed in a substrate using laser ablation.
  • FIG. 7F illustrates the antenna wire extending into, across the bottom of, and emerging out of the recess for accepting the antenna module AM (FIG. 7E). Only a relevant portion of the card body CB and only one turn of the antenna wire are shown, for illustrative clarity. This facilitates minimizing the distance between the module antenna MA and the card antenna CA when the module antenna MA is implanted in the card body CB, the close proximity ensuring effective coupling of the module antenna MA with the card antenna CA.

Abstract

L'invention concerne une carte intelligente d'interface double (DI) (100) comprenant un module de puce (CM), une antenne de module (MA), un corps de carte (CB) et une antenne de carte (CA) ayant deux enroulements (D, E) connectés à une phase inverse en tant que « quasi-dipôle ». Des embases capacitives (B, C) sont connectées à une structure d'antenne (A) de l'antenne de module (MA). L'antenne de module (MA) chevauche seulement l'un des enroulements (D ou E) de l'antenne de carte (CA). L'antenne de carte (CA) peut être formée à partir d'un câble continu. De la ferrite (156) protège l'antenne de module (MA) de plots de contact (CP) et est destinée à améliorer le couplage entre l'antenne de module (MA) et l'antenne de carte (CA).
EP11793421.6A 2011-08-08 2011-12-06 Amélioration du couplage dans et sur des cartes intelligentes d'identification par radiofréquence (rfid) Withdrawn EP2742464A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (7)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US13/205,600 US8474726B2 (en) 2010-08-12 2011-08-08 RFID antenna modules and increasing coupling
US201161521741P 2011-08-09 2011-08-09
US201161533228P 2011-09-11 2011-09-11
US201161536153P 2011-09-19 2011-09-19
US13/294,578 US20120055013A1 (en) 2010-07-13 2011-11-11 Forming microstructures and antennas for transponders
US201161561938P 2011-11-21 2011-11-21
PCT/EP2011/071885 WO2013020610A1 (fr) 2011-08-08 2011-12-06 Amélioration du couplage dans et sur des cartes intelligentes d'identification par radiofréquence (rfid)

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EP2742464A1 true EP2742464A1 (fr) 2014-06-18

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EP11793421.6A Withdrawn EP2742464A1 (fr) 2011-08-08 2011-12-06 Amélioration du couplage dans et sur des cartes intelligentes d'identification par radiofréquence (rfid)

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EP (1) EP2742464A1 (fr)
JP (1) JP2014529927A (fr)
KR (1) KR20140082648A (fr)
CN (1) CN103907125A (fr)
AU (1) AU2011374571A1 (fr)
BR (1) BR112014003130A2 (fr)
CA (1) CA2853767A1 (fr)
MX (1) MX2014001531A (fr)
WO (1) WO2013020610A1 (fr)

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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2013020610A1 (fr) 2013-02-14
BR112014003130A2 (pt) 2017-06-06
KR20140082648A (ko) 2014-07-02
MX2014001531A (es) 2014-06-04
CA2853767A1 (fr) 2013-02-14
CN103907125A (zh) 2014-07-02
JP2014529927A (ja) 2014-11-13
AU2011374571A1 (en) 2014-02-20

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