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smartcardjavacard

Do smartcard chips (not cards) come prepackaged with card OS

I have started doing some reading up on Smart Card chips. Like NXP P5* or Infineon SLE66* series. I understand that these are smart card chips. But do these chips come pre-packaged with some Card OS also? For instance, if I buy them, would they already be having an OS or do I need to write that on them t start writing some Java applications?

In case they come pre-packaged then good, else, how do I get access to these Operating System to start writing some apps? For instance how do I get access to javaCard or Siemens CardOS or one by G&D etc.. Is any of them free for use or is there some sort of licensing involved?

Solution

  • You won't be able to buy a chip without operating system, which might either be a native operating system or a javacard environment; this would also be somewhat useless, since you could not introduce the operating system later. (Recently situation became a little bit more complicated, since now there are specific flash technology cards, which store the operating system in non-volatile memory. Being specifically tailored for that purpose, they are relatively expensive and just available from Infineon, NXP, etc. The equipment to create an operating system is somewhat expensive.) Typically the operating system license is paid by a surcharge on the chip price and you order these chips from the OS supplier, not from the hardware manufacturer.

    Some additional hints.

    • Native operating system are quite hard to extend using "apps"; definitely some additional steps like signing a non-disclosure agreement are necessary for getting the necessary information and tools.
    • Native operating systems provide a command set, which is typically supplemented by a file structure (including keys e.g. for authentication or digital signature) but no further active content.
    • CardOS is a registered trademark formerly held by Siemens, 2012 including the product acquired by Atos (see here)