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11/29/07 - USPTO Class 340 |  6 views | #20070273476 | Prev - Next | About this Page  340 rss/xml feed  monitor keywords

Thin semiconductor device and operation method of thin semiconductor device

USPTO Application #: 20070273476
Title: Thin semiconductor device and operation method of thin semiconductor device
Abstract: The present invention provides a thin semiconductor device in which its security such as prevention of counterfeit or information leakage is to be enhanced. One feature of the present invention is a thin semiconductor device in which a plurality of thin film integrated circuits are mounted and in which at least one integrated circuit is different from the other integrated circuits in any one of a specification, layout, frequency for transmission or reception, a memory, a communication means, a communication rule and the like. According to the present invention, a thin semiconductor device tag having the plurality of thin film integrated circuits communicates with a reader/writer and at least one of the thin film integrated circuits receives a signal to write information in a memory, and the information written in the memory determines which of the thin film integrated circuits communicates. (end of abstract)



Agent: Eric Robinson - Potomac Falls, VA, US
Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Takeshi Osada, Yasuyuki Arai, Yuko Tachimura
USPTO Applicaton #: 20070273476 - Class: 340005610 (USPTO)

Thin semiconductor device and operation method of thin semiconductor device description/claims


The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070273476, Thin semiconductor device and operation method of thin semiconductor device.

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
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TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a thin semiconductor device in which a thin film integrated circuit is mounted and an operation method of the thin semiconductor device.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] As for a conventional non-contact IC card, there is proposed a structure in which capacity adjustment of a capacitor for setting the resonance frequency of a resonant circuit in an antenna mechanism is not required, mechanical damages to elements constituting a card are minimalized, and mass-productivity is increased. The structure has a plane coil which is connected to a non-contact IC chip and plural other plane coils which are arranged in the periphery thereof (References 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-109861 and Reference 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-109862). According to References 1 and 2, each of resonance frequencies is a frequency of high frequency electromagnetic field from a reader/writer device, a frequency shifted up/down to some extent, or the like, and several of the frequencies can be combined so as not to be interfered with one another, thereby obtaining broadband resonance properties.

[0003] There is an IC card in which a plurality of IC chips each using the same frequency and a booster coil are mounted on a base material of a card so as to expand a function of an IC card (Reference 3: Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2003-331238). According to Reference 3, the IC chips use the booster coil as a common external antenna and thus, can individually conduct data communication with an external reader/writer.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

[0004] As for such conventional IC cards according to References 1 to 3, preventing counterfeit of such cards has been not considered. No measures for preventing information leakage have been made.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin semiconductor device whose security for prevention of counterfeit or information leakage is to be enhanced.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above described problems. One feature of the present invention is a thin semiconductor device in which a plurality of thin film integrated circuits are mounted and in which at least one integrated circuit is different from the other integrated circuits in any one of specification, layout, frequency for transmission or reception (referred to as transmission/reception collectively) (simply referred to as frequency), memory, communication means, communication rule and the like.

[0007] The layout of the thin film integrated circuit includes layouts of a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, an antenna and the like. Differences in the layouts of antennas means difference in shapes or lengths of antennas. Difference in the shapes or lengths of antennas causes difference in frequencies. This frequency can adopt any of a sub millimeter wave (300 GHz to 3 THz), an extremely-high-frequency wave (EHF) (30 GHz to 300 GHz), a super-high-frequency wave (SHF) (3 GHz to 30 GHz), an ultra-high-frequency wave (UHF) (300 MHz to 3 GHz), a very-high-frequency (VHF) (30 MHz to 300 MHz), a high-frequency wave (HF) (3 MHz to 30 MHz), a medium-frequency wave (MF) (300 KHz to 3 MHz), a long-frequency wave (LF) (30 KHz to 300 KHz) and a very-long frequency wave (VLF) (3 KHz to 30 KHz). The specific frequency can adopt any of 135 KHz, 6.78 MHz, 13.56 MHz, 27.125 MHz, 40.68 MHz, 433.92 MHz, 869.0 MHz, 915.0 MHz, 2.45 GHz, 5.8 GHz and 24.125 GHz. If the frequencies are, for example, 2.45 GHz and 900 MHz, the shapes of antennas are different. In other words, the antenna may be a dipole type one or a loop type one.

[0008] The memory may adopt either a memory that can store information even when the power is off, or a memory that cannot store information when the power is off. The memories that can store information even when the power is off include a nonvolatile memory, a ROM (such as mask ROM), a flash memory, an FRAM, an EPROM, and an EEPROM. The memories that cannot store information when the power is off include a DRAM and an SRAM. In such memories, information can be written in or reading when a signal is input. The signal includes a signal for selecting a memory to be reading, i.e., a selection signal, in addition to the signal for writing to information. According to the present invention, when these memories are different, information memorized in the memories are different in some cases. Differences in information means that memorizing modes of a memory such as rewritable, erasable and overwritable of information are different.

[0009] Differences in communication means of thin film integrated circuits means to adopt either a digital modulation system or an analog modulation system. The digital modulation system is any of amplitude shift keying (ASK), frequency shift keying (FSK) and phase shift keying (PSK). The analog modulation system is any of amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM) and phase modulation (PM).

[0010] The communication means can adopt either one-way communication or two-way communication. Further, it can adopt any of a space division multiplex access method (SDMA), a polarization division multiplex access method (PDMA), a frequency-division multiplex access method (FDMA), a time-division multiplex access method (TDMA), a code division multiplex access method (CDMA) and an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing method (OFDM).

[0011] Differences in communication rules, i.g., protocols, of integrated circuits means that predetermined rules for conducting data communication are different. When the protocols are different, processing rules of central processing units (CPUs) formed in the thin film integrated circuits are different.

[0012] As for the operation method of the above described thin semiconductor device, a reader/writer communicates with plural thin film integrated circuits, information is written in a memory by transmitting a signal to at least one of the plurality of thin film integrated circuits, and it is determined which of the plurality of thin film integrated circuits communicates by the information written in the memory.

[0013] As described above, by the communication mode of the thin film integrated circuit and the reader/writer, it is possible to determine which of thin film integrated circuits is communicated with. Therefore, access to the memory can be limited.

[0014] According to the present invention, a thin semiconductor device in which a thin film integrated circuit is mounted includes an ID card typified by a credit card, an ID tag used for merchandise management, and an ID chip mounted on an article.

[0015] According to the present invention, the security of a thin semiconductor device can be improved. According to the present invention, a new operation method of a thin semiconductor device can be provided. In the operation method of the present invention, the memory can be a nonvolatile memory. Using the nonvolatile memory that can write to only once can prevent falsification. The nonvolatile memory can further enhance the security of a thin semiconductor device.

[0016] In the operation method of the present invention, the memory can be a rewritable memory. Thus, the thin film integrated circuit can be reused to contribute to lower cost of thin semiconductor devices.

[0017] Since a thin film integrated circuit of the present invention is formed over an insulating substrate, it has fewer limitations on the shape of a mother substrate as compared with an IC chip formed by using a circular silicon wafer. Therefore, mass-productivity of thin film integrated circuits is enhanced and thus thin film integrated circuits can be mass-produced. As the result thereof, cost reduction of thin film integrated circuits can be expected. A thin film integrated circuit formed at extremely low unit cost can generate big profits by the reduction of unit costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] In the accompanying drawings:

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a mode of a thin semiconductor device;

[0020] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation method of a thin semiconductor device;

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