NXP offers keyless entry IC

LONDON – NXP Semiconductors NV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) has launched the NCF2960 chip, which it claims is the world's smallest chip for automotive keyless entry with immobilizer function.

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The component, which is sampling in engineering quantities, integrates a security transponder, RISC processor and multi-channel radio transmitter in a 24-pin QFN package that requires 4-mm by 4-mm of board space.

The chip operates from 310-MHz to 447-MHz and optionally up to 950-MHz, NXP said. A calculation unit supports the use of HT3 and AES encryption at 96- and 128-bits respectively. The component operates from a single lithium cell at voltages from 2.1-V to 3.6-V.

The multi-channel capability improves reliability of car keys which can otherwise fail to work in environments suffering from RF jamming, NXP said.

"A key aspect in the product design phase was to provide new valuable features – such as stabilized RF output power, frequency hopping and a variety of encryption options – in the smallest possible package, without any compromises on performance," said Drue Freeman, vice president of automotive sales and marketing for NXP, in a statement.


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