Crocus signs up smartcard maker for MLU

LONDON – Crocus Technology Inc., a vendor magnetic of RAMs, has announced that Morpho, a division of Safran Group (Paris, France) and a supplier identification, detection and e-document technology, plans to develop smartcards based on Crocus' Magnetic-Logic-Unit (MLU) technology.

MLU is an adaption of thermally-assisted magnetic switching (TAS) for use in memory access – in addition to storage –and opens up the possibility of NAND-like memory implemented in MRAM and search memories, Crocus (Grenoble, France) has claimed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Crocus will develop an MLU-based secure microcontroller which Morpho will integrate into its smart card products. The secure microcontroller product will be compliant with the latest quality and security standards.

Previous generations of smartcard designs have been based on flash memory technology. MLU technology offers the advantage of much higher read-write cycle endurance, compared with leading-edge flash memory, while also offering inherent non-volatility and low power operation. The use of MLU should also provide match-in-place capability, which can be used for secure authentication.

"This partnership offers a unique opportunity to combine Morpho's industry leading smart card expertise with our breakthrough MLU innovation," said Bertrand Cambou, executive chairman of Crocus Technology, in a statement.


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