JP2000332664A - Communication system using non-contact information medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system capable of generating high operation power in a non-contact information medium. SOLUTION: The communication system is provided with a carrier signal source independent of a reader/writer 20 and separates an operation power transmission system to the non-contact information medium 10 from a data transmission system to the medium 10. Namely the reader/writer 20 concerns only data transmission and the carrier signal source concerns only the generation of a carrier signal for operation power. It is preferable to use ISM frequency for the carrier signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a communication system, and more particularly to a communication system using a non-contact information medium having a built-in IC chip. The “non-contact information medium incorporating an IC chip” is a medium that includes an IC chip as an information recording medium and communicates with an external device in a non-contact manner. Therefore, as long as it is non-contact, the wavelength of the radio wave does not matter, and the length of the communication distance does not matter. Therefore, a non-contact IC module described later may be sufficient for the non-contact information medium.

[0002] A typical non-contact information medium having a built-in IC chip is, for example, a non-contact IC card which communicates with a reader / writer using microwaves. In the present application, the “IC card” includes a smart card, an intelligent card, a chip-in card, a microcircuit (microcomputer) card, a memory card, a super card, a multi-function card, a combination card, and the like.

The shape of a non-contact information medium incorporating an IC chip is not limited to a card. Therefore, it also includes so-called IC tags. Here, "IC
The "tag" has the same function as the IC card, but includes all information recording media having a stamp size, a size smaller than that of a stamp, and a shape such as a coin.

[0004] Non-contact IC cards and IC tags are non-contact ICs.
Sometimes expressed as a module. Here, the term "non-contact IC module" generally means a combination of an IC chip and a coil or an antenna which is a non-contact communication means between the IC chip and an external device, and includes an on-coil IC chip or an IC having a monolithic IC structure. The chip and the coil are all mounted on the surface of an IC or on the same substrate to have an integrated structure. In the broad sense, the non-contact IC module may be any communication means, but in the present application, it is assumed that communication is performed via electric (magnetic) waves.

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art IC cards can be classified into a contact type and a non-contact type according to a communication method between an IC chip built in the card and a reader / writer. Among them, the non-contact type has no contact with the reader / writer, so there is no contact failure, it can be used at a distance of several centimeters to several tens of centimeters from the reader / writer, and it is resistant to dirt, rain, and static electricity. It is anticipated that its demand will increase in the future.

A conventional non-contact IC card obtains operating power by electromagnetic induction from a radio wave received from a reader / writer, and exchanges data with the reader / writer using the radio wave. The maximum communication distance between the non-contact IC card and the reader / writer is, for example, about 10 cm. That is, the conventional communication system including the non-contact IC card and the reader / writer performs both the operation power supply to the non-contact IC card and the data communication between the non-contact IC card and the reader / writer using the radio wave of the frequency fc as a carrier. I was using. Communication data is expressed by modulating a transmission radio wave and adding a sideband to a carrier frequency fc which is a center frequency.

[0007]

The communication distance of the above-mentioned conventional communication system is limited by the shape and dimensions of the antenna coil and also by the Radio Law which regulates weak radio waves. Since the Radio Law substantially regulates the intensity of radio waves at the center frequency and sidebands, it is not possible to simply enhance the radio waves to extend the distance. In a conventional communication system, only a weak radio wave had to be used, so that the operating power generated by a non-contact IC card was also small.

[0008] This problem becomes conspicuous, for example, when a plurality of non-contact information media are operated simultaneously. In a conventional communication system, when simultaneously driving a plurality of non-contact information media, the same number of reader / writers are provided so as to correspond to the non-contact information media on a one-to-one basis. Can be simultaneously driven. The former method increases the communication distance between the non-contact information medium and the reader / writer by 10
cm, but there is a disadvantage that a plurality of reader / writers must be prepared. On the other hand, in the latter method, a single reader / writer must supply operating energy to a plurality of contactless information media,
There is a disadvantage that the communication distance between the two must be shorter than 10 cm. However, it is impossible to increase the intensity of the radio wave supplied from the reader / writer in order to maintain the communication distance at about 10 cm for the above-described reason.

Further, in the process of manufacturing an IC which is a main component of the non-contact information medium, there are special problems in the steps of inspection, aging, initialization and the like.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and useful communication system which solves such conventional problems.

[0011] More specifically, it is an exemplary object of the present invention to provide a communication system which enables a larger operating power to be generated in a contactless information medium than in the prior art.

[0012] Also, a communication that enables a single reader / writer to perform data communication with an individual or a plurality of media while enabling a plurality of non-contact information media to operate collectively or partially. It is another exemplary object of the present invention to provide a system.

It is another exemplary object of the present invention to provide a novel power supply means which replaces a contact probe in a manufacturing process of a non-contact information medium.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication system according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention includes a non-contact information medium having a semiconductor memory and a first antenna, and a data communication between the non-contact information medium and the non-contact information medium. And a transmitting device having a second antenna to transmit a carrier signal to the non-contact information medium, and a resonance circuit capable of resonating with the carrier signal, the non-contact information medium A data transmitting and receiving device for assisting data communication with the information device,
A modulation device for modulating the parameters of the resonance circuit, the carrier signal is used to generate the operating power and the clock of the non-contact information medium, and data from the information device is input to the modulation device and the data is The communication between the non-contact information medium and the information device is executed by modulating the parameter according to the following. According to such a communication system, an operation power transmission system and a data transmission system for a non-contact information medium are separated.

The carrier signal can use, for example, an ISM frequency. As a result, the intensity of the radio wave of the carrier signal that is not subjected to any modulation should be higher than the intensity of the radio wave accompanied by the sideband modulated by the data emitted from the conventional information device (eg, a reader / writer). Can be. Further, the data transmitting / receiving device may further include an antenna with a ferromagnetic material connected to the resonance circuit. According to such a communication system, the antenna can be reduced in size, and when a plurality of non-contact information media are present, data communication can be locally performed only on some of the media.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising: a non-contact information medium; an information device capable of transmitting a data signal including predetermined information to the non-contact information medium; An activation device that can transmit a carrier signal used for generating operating power of the information medium to the non-contact information medium, is provided separately from the information device, and activates the information medium to be contacted; . In this communication system, as in the above-described communication system, the operating power transmission system for the non-contact information medium and the data transmission system are separated. Here, in the present application, “activation” means
Activate (make it operable). The communication system may further include a modulator connected to the information device and generating the data signal by modulating the carrier signal based on the predetermined information. In this communication system, it is sufficient if there is only one signal source that generates a carrier signal. Also,
Preferably, the carrier signal is a single frequency signal of an ISM frequency that is not modulated. This is because, by this, the intensity of the radio wave of the carrier signal can be made stronger than the intensity of the radio wave emitted from a conventional information device (for example, a reader / writer). The activation device has, for example, an antenna with a ferromagnetic material. As a result, the antenna can be downsized, and when there are a plurality of non-contact information media, only a part of the media can be locally activated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing apparatus configured to activate a plurality of non-contact information media by transmitting a carrier signal to the non-contact information media. An activation device capable of transmitting a data signal containing predetermined information to at least one of the activated non-contact information media to perform a predetermined process. According to such a processing device, a plurality of non-contact information media can be simultaneously activated in a non-contact manner by a carrier signal, and a probe having a contact terminal is not required. The plurality of non-contact information media may be arranged in a processing chamber, and the processing device may further include an environment setting device for setting an environment in the processing room. In this case, the processing device is, for example,
The present invention can be applied to an environmental condition setting device, an aging device, a burn-in device, and the like.

A method of manufacturing a non-contact information medium according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: disposing a plurality of non-contact information media before completion in a processing chamber; A step of simultaneously activating one or more of the non-contact information media by an activating device that transmits, and for at least one of the activated non-contact information media,
A step of transmitting a data signal containing predetermined information from an information device independent of the activation device and performing a predetermined process;
Evaluating the non-contact information medium appropriately processed through the predetermined process as a finished product. According to this manufacturing method, a plurality of non-contact information media before completion can be completed in a non-contact manner by activating them in the processing chamber.

An exemplary environmental condition setting apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing chamber for accommodating a plurality of non-contact information media formed in a semiconductor wafer shape and performing predetermined processing, and an environment for setting an environment in the processing chamber. Setting means; and activating means for non-contactly activating an arbitrary number of non-contact information media to be subjected to the predetermined processing among the plurality of non-contact information media on a wafer-by-wafer basis. According to the environmental condition setting device, a part or all of the plurality of non-contact information media can be activated in the processing chamber in a non-contact manner.

Further, the activating device of the present invention comprises a storage member for storing a plurality of non-contact information media arranged in a predetermined arrangement, and an arbitrary number of the non-contact information media among the plurality of non-contact information media. Activation means for activating in a non-contact manner. The predetermined arrangement may be two-dimensional, and the storage member may have a sheet shape, or the predetermined arrangement may be one-dimensional, and the storage member may have a tape shape. According to such an activation device, some or all of the plurality of non-contact information media can be activated in a non-contact manner.

Other objects and further features of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A communication system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, members denoted by the same reference numerals represent the same members,
Also, members in which the same reference numerals are assigned with alphabets represent corresponding deformed members, and redundant description will be omitted. Further, unless otherwise specified, the reference numbers are assumed to be all the same reference numbers with alphabets.

First, a communication system 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a communication system 1 according to the present invention. The communication system 1 of the present invention includes a non-contact information medium 10, a reader / writer (R / W) 20, a carrier signal transmission circuit 30, a data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40, and a modulation circuit 50. The modulation circuit 50 also includes a part of the reception function such as a reception signal detection circuit. In other words, bidirectional signals for transmission and reception can be handled. Further, the carrier signal transmission circuit 3
A signal transmission path (RF field) 60 is formed in a space where a signal from 0 (that is, a carrier signal described later) reaches. In this embodiment, a non-contact IC card is used as a typical example of the non-contact information medium 10.

The non-contact information medium 10 includes a reader / writer (R / W) 20 as an external device and a carrier signal transmitting circuit 3
Communication can be performed using 0 (electromagnetic) waves. Further, the non-contact information medium 10 may have a built-in battery, but it is preferable that the non-contact information medium 10 be battery-less in order to avoid troubles caused by deterioration of the built-in battery and to reduce the size of the chip. Therefore, hereinafter, the non-contact information medium 10
It is assumed that data is exchanged with the reader / writer 20 using radio waves, and operating power and a clock are obtained from radio waves received from the carrier signal transmission circuit 30 by electromagnetic induction. Characteristically, the non-contact information medium 10 of the present embodiment has a communication partner (that is, a carrier signal transmission circuit 30) that receives radio waves serving as a basis of operating power and a communication partner that receives data radio waves (that is, a reader / writer). R / W) 20). The non-contact information medium 10 has an arbitrary shape (for example,
Pendant shape, coin shape, key shape, card shape,
Tag shape).

As described above, the non-contact information medium 10 of the present invention
Can communicate wirelessly with an external device without contact, but this does not exclude the function of the present invention to contact and communicate with the external device. For example, the non-contact information medium 10
By incorporating a contact IC chip, it is possible to configure a combination card having both functions of a contact IC card and a non-contact IC card.

The present invention does not prevent the non-contact information medium 10 from being applied to a card medium having a magnetic stripe. In this case, the non-contact information medium 10 of the present invention has a function as a magnetic card such as a credit card and a cash card. further,
Optionally, the non-contact information medium 10 may be formed with an emboss, a sign panel, a hologram, a stamp, a hot stamp, an image print, a photograph, and the like.

The non-contact IC card 10 has an antenna coil 14 and an IC chip 16 on a base 12, as shown in FIGS. Here, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the non-contact IC card 10. FIG. 2 conceptually shows the antenna coil 14. In the actual non-contact IC card 10, the antenna coil 14 is formed as, for example, a plane coil surrounding the IC chip 16 as shown in FIG. . Here, FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective plan view of the non-contact IC card 10. The substrate 12 is made of, for example, plastic. Optionally, contactless I
The C card 10 may further have a display, a keyboard, and the like (not shown) on the base material 12 to achieve further multifunctionality. The antenna coil 14 is electrically connected to the IC chip 16 via a pair of connection terminals 18.

The IC chip 16 includes a power supply circuit 102, a transmission / reception circuit 104, a memory 108, preferably a logic control circuit 106, and a clock (not shown).
0.

The non-contact IC card 10 does not include a battery as described above, and the power supply circuit 102
4 obtains its operating power and clock by electromagnetic induction from the received radio waves. That is, an induced current is generated in the coil 14 by the radio wave received from the carrier signal transmission circuit 30,
Such an induced current is supplied to the IC chip 16. Since the induced current is an alternating current, the IC chip 16
In step 2, the DC voltage is converted to a constant voltage for operation of each unit.
The transmission / reception circuit 104 has a demodulation circuit and a modulation circuit.
The demodulation circuit detects the received radio wave and restores the baseband signal to obtain data therefrom. Further, the modulation circuit changes the carrier in accordance with the transmission data to transmit the data and transmits the carrier to the coil 34. As the modulation method, for example, ASK for changing the amplitude of the carrier (carrier) frequency, PSK for changing the phase, or the like can be used.

The modulation circuit and the demodulation circuit are the logic control circuit 1
06 and operates in synchronization with the clock. The logic control circuit 106 can also be realized by a CPU. The memory 108 is a ROM for storing data,
It is composed of RAM, EEPROM and / or FRAM. The non-contact IC card 10 communicates with the reader / writer 20 based on the data, and the logic control circuit 10
6 can perform a predetermined process. For example, memory 1
08 can store ID information, a value such as a predetermined amount of electronic money, a transaction record, and the like, and the logic control circuit 106 can store the value by a predetermined transaction (for example, purchasing a ticket or depositing electronic money). It can be increased or decreased. Since the configuration and operation of these components can be easily understood by those skilled in the art, detailed description will be omitted.

The antenna coil 14 is electrically connected to the IC chip 16 and is electromagnetically coupled to the antenna coil 34 of the carrier signal transmitting circuit 30 and the data transmitting / receiving circuit 40 in a non-contact manner to form a signal transmission path 60. ing. The distance between the antenna coil 14 and the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 is, for example, about several mm to 10 cm. On the other hand, the distance between the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 and the carrier transmitting circuit 30 is, for example, several cm to several tens cm. The antenna coil 14 can be formed by any method known in the art, such as etching using copper, aluminum, or the like, printing by a printed wiring method, or formation using a wire. For example, when viewed from above, the shape of the antenna coil 14 can have a desired shape such as a circle, a square, and an ellipse. The antenna coil 14 is formed by a wire bonding method or TAB (Tape Automa).
It is connected to the IC chip 16 by a ted bonding method or the like. In addition, unlike FIG.
The C card 10 may be arranged between the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 and the carrier signal transmitting circuit 30. That is,
In the RF field 60, the positional relationship and the angular relationship between the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 and the carrier signal transmitting circuit 30 of the non-contact IC card 10 are not fixed.

The non-contact information medium 10 is expected to be used for many purposes. In these fields, financial (cash card, credit card, electronic money management, firm banking, home banking, etc.) distribution (shopping card, gift certificate, etc.) ), Medical treatment (examination ticket, health insurance card, health notebook, etc.), transportation (stored fair (SF) card,
Coupons, licenses, commuter passes, passports, etc.), insurance (such as insurance policies), securities (such as securities), education (such as student ID cards, transcripts), companies (such as ID cards), administration (such as seal seal certificates,
Resident card). For example, IC chip 16
In order to store ID information in the memory 108, the non-contact information medium 10 can be used as an input / output management medium of a company, a research institute, a university, or the like.

The reader / writer 20, as shown in FIG.
A control interface unit (IF) 22 and an encoder (EN)
C) and a decoder / demodulator (DEM / DEC) 26 and can be configured as a reader / writer of the non-contact IC card 10. Note that the reader / writer 20 further includes a power supply, a controller, a clock, and a timing circuit, but is omitted in FIG. Further, the reader / writer 20 of the present embodiment is provided with a data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40.
And may be electrically connected to the modulation circuit 50 and may be configured integrally therewith, or may be physically divided.

The control interface 22 is an interface with a host device.
0 is connected to an external device (not shown) (processing device, control device, personal computer, display, etc.). The encoder 24 includes a modulator 52 of a modulation circuit 50 described later.
And performs bit encoding (for example, modified mirror, Manchester, etc.) on transmission data from an external device or a controller (not shown),
The encoded data is transmitted to the modulator 52.

The decoder / demodulator 26 is provided with a modulation circuit 5 described later.
0, which is connected to the detector 54 and the control interface 22, converts the signal detected by the detector 54 into a binary signal (baseband signal), and decodes it into original data using a timing signal (not shown). I do. Then decrypt /
The demodulator 26 transmits the original data to a controller (not shown) or an external device. For example, the reader / writer 20
The user checks the password, fingerprint, voiceprint, iris information, and the like entered by the user to check the non-contact information medium 10.
You can check if you are the rightful owner. In this case, the reader / writer 20 uses a fingerprint reader (not shown) or the like. If the ID information input by the user is incorrect, the determination result is sent to, for example, a lock / unlock device which is an external device connected to the safe door, and the lock of the door is maintained.

The reader / writer 20 modulates the parameters of the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 through the modulation circuit 50 so as to modulate the carrier signal from the carrier signal transmission circuit 30 so that data can be exchanged with the non-contact IC card 10. Has been replaced. The signal transmitted by the reader / writer 20 of the present embodiment is functionally different from the conventional reader / writer in that the signal transmitted by the reader / writer 20 is not used for generating the operating power and clock of the non-contact IC card 10.

The carrier signal transmission circuit 30 has a carrier signal source 32 and an antenna coil 34 as shown in FIG. The carrier signal source 32 is an oscillator that generates a carrier frequency fc, and also includes a driving circuit. The antenna coil 34 supplies the carrier frequency f to the non-contact IC card 10.
A radio wave having c is transmitted. The carrier signal transmission circuit 30 of the present embodiment sets the carrier frequency fc to the ISM band (industrial, chemical, medical frequency). Here, the frequency of the ISM band is 6.780 MHz (allowable error ± 15 kHz), 13.56 MHz (allowable error ±
6.78 kHz), 27.12 MHz (tolerance ± 16
2.72 kHz), 40.68 MHz (tolerance ± 2
0.34 kHz), 433.92 MHz (permissible error ±
0.87MHz), 915MHz (tolerance ± 13MH)
z), 2450 MHz (allowable error ± 50 MHz), 58
00MHz (allowable error ± 75MHz), 24125MH
This is a special frequency band approved for use in industrial, medical, and scientific and technical devices as z (tolerance ± 125 MHz).

The antenna coil 34 is, for example, 13.5
A single spectrum radio wave having a carrier frequency fc of 6 MHz is transmitted to the non-contact IC card 10. The strength of the radio wave is generally determined according to the required distance between the antenna coils 14 and 34. Non-contact IC for such carrier signal
When the card 10 receives the signal, it generates an operating power supply by electromagnetic induction and generates a clock based on the carrier frequency fc, thereby making the contactless IC card 10 communicable. Hereinafter, in the present invention, this function is referred to as activation of the non-contact IC card 10. When activated, a state is entered in which a command from the reader / writer 20 can be accepted. That is, since the radio waves transmitted from the antenna coil 34 are not modulated, no sideband is added. By adjusting the size of the antenna coil 34, the distance between the non-contact IC card 10 and the carrier signal transmission circuit 30 can be secured to some extent. Similarly, it is possible to transmit an output such that more non-contact IC cards 10 at a predetermined distance are simultaneously driven by the carrier signal transmission circuit 30.

As described above, the communication system 1 of the present embodiment
By using the ISM frequency to transmit radio waves that are stronger than the radio waves conventionally supplied by the reader / writer 20,
A non-contact IC card which extends the communication distance between a reader / writer as a conventional operating power (and clock) supply source and a non-contact IC card and can be driven as one operating power (and clock) supply source The number is increasing.

As will be described later with reference to FIG. 19, the antenna coil 34 may have a ferrite core 35 to be flattened and miniaturized to locally increase the transmission output. Such an application, as described below,
This is convenient when simultaneously activating one or a plurality of non-contact information media. Further, the coil 34 can be configured as a spiral planar coil or a multiple spiral coil that is an air-core coil, or can be configured as a ferrite bar antenna. The ferrite bar antenna coil may have any shape such as a round shape, a square shape, and a flat shape. Also, the coil may be configured as two ferrite bar antenna coils.

The data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 is directly or electromagnetically connected to the modulation circuit 50 and
The data from 0 is transmitted to the non-contact IC card 10 and the data from the non-contact IC card is received. Data transmitted to and received from the non-contact IC card 10 propagates through the signal transmission path 60 as radio waves. Therefore, the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 includes the non-contact IC card and the reader / writer 2.
It has a function as a repeater between 0. As will be described later, the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 utilizes electromagnetic induction. As long as such a function is achieved, the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 can adopt an arbitrary configuration.

As shown in FIG. 4, the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 has at least one antenna coil 42 and preferably a capacitor 44. Radio waves from the non-contact IC card 10 received by the antenna coil 42 generate an induced current in the antenna coil 42. The induced current is sent to the modulation circuit 50 connected to the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 and sent to the demodulator / decoder 26 of the reader / writer 20 via the detector 54. As described above, the parameters of the antenna circuit including the coil 42 can be modulated and transmitted to the non-contact IC card 10.

As described above, the coil 42 functions as a communication unit capable of communicating with the non-contact IC card 10 and the reader / writer 20 in the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40. The coil 42 has a predetermined communication distance with which the coil 42 can communicate with the non-contact IC card 10, and its size is adjustable. Therefore, the predetermined communication distance can be adjusted as necessary. . For this reason, if the non-contact IC card 10 of the present invention is applied as an alternative to the conventional non-contact IC card using microwaves, the above-mentioned predetermined communication distance can be set to the communication distance required for the conventional non-contact IC card. Can be set to the same distance as. For example,
If the communication distance is to be reduced to about 10 mm, the coil 4
2 is small, if it is about 10 cm, it is medium, 70c
If it is about m, the size is increased. The coil 42 is
It can be formed by any method known in the art, such as etching using copper, aluminum, or the like, printing by a printed wiring method, or formation with a wire.

The configuration of the antenna of the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 is not limited to the antenna coil 42 as long as the data transmitting / receiving circuit 40 has a predetermined communication distance capable of communicating with the non-contact IC card 10. Of course. For example, an antenna known in the art such as a dipole antenna, a monopole antenna, a loop antenna, a slot antenna, and a microstrip antenna can be used. Thus, the coil 42 can be conceptually understood as broadly including communication means.

The data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 can further include a capacitor 44. Capacitor 44
Helps to form a resonance circuit that resonates with the coil 42 and the carrier frequency fc. The capacitor 44 is a coil 42
Can be formed at the same time. The capacitor 4
4 may be integrated with a coil 42 on a ceramic substrate (not shown). Assuming that the inductance of the coil 42 is L and the capacitance of the capacitor 44 is C, the resonance frequency fr of the data transmission / reception circuit 40 shown in FIG. 4 is fr = (＝ π) (LC) − ／. If this value is made to correspond to the carrier frequency fc, the circuit shown in FIG. 1 can resonate at fc and allow a large resonance current to flow through the coil 42 and the capacitor 44. IC card 10
Can be supplied to Note that the data transmitting / receiving circuit 40
As a matter of course, not only a series resonance circuit but also a parallel resonance circuit can be adopted as the resonance circuit. Alternatively, a plurality of capacitors may be provided as a matching circuit instead of the capacitor 44 shown in FIG.
The coil 42 may be provided with a noise removing shield.

Data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 4 shown in FIG.
0 may be replaced by a data transmission / reception circuit 40a having a card type planar coil 42a and a capacitor 44 as shown in FIG. The data transmission / reception circuit 40a is convenient when the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 must be formed in a planar shape.

Alternatively, the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 4
0 may be replaced by a data transmission / reception circuit 40b having a coil 42b, a capacitor 44, and a ferrite core 46, as shown in FIGS. The data transmission / reception circuit 40b can be configured to be small. In addition, data communication can be performed only with a part of the plurality of non-contact information media. As described above, the coil 42 can be configured as a spiral planar coil or a multiple spiral coil which is an air-core coil, and the ferrite core 46
It can be configured as a planar coil or a ferrite bar antenna with. The ferrite bar antenna coil may have any shape such as a round shape, a square shape, and a flat shape. Further, the coil 42 may be configured as two ferrite bar antenna coils.

It goes without saying that the numbers of the coils 42 and the capacitors 44 are not limited to one each. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 shown in FIG. 4 includes a pair of electromagnetically coupled coils 42c and 42d.
And a data transmission / reception circuit 40c having a capacitor 44c and a resistor 48.

The modulation circuit 50 has a modulator (MOD) 52 and a detector (DET) 54 as shown in FIG.
The modulation circuit 50 is electrically connected to the reader / writer 20, but may be electrically connected to the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 or may be electromagnetically coupled by a transformer, as described later. The modulator 52 converts the coded waveform into a transmission signal. The modulator 52 modulates parameters of the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 with data from the encoder 24 of the reader / writer 20. Specifically, for example,
A thin pulse is generated at the edge of the encoded waveform, and the switch is turned on / off to modulate the parameters of the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 (that is, the inductance L, the capacitance C, or the resistance R, which are the resonance circuit constants). The detector 54 detects a signal from the non-contact IC card 10 and outputs the signal through a filter or the like.

The connection between the modulation circuit 50 and the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 and a circuit configuration example will be described with reference to FIGS. The modulator 52 shown in FIG.
When the detector 54 is expressed by a resistor 55 in the expression 3, the modulation circuit 50 can be expressed as a parallel circuit 50 a shown in FIG. 9 or a serial circuit 50 b shown in FIG. 10. In addition,
Data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40 shown in FIGS.
However, it goes without saying that the data transmission / reception circuit 40a described above can be substituted. 9 and 10, the switch 53 is connected to the encoder 24 of the reader / writer 20 in FIG. 4, and turns on / off in accordance with data supplied from the encoder 24. As a result, the Q value (= ω0L / R) or the resonance frequency is modulated, and the amplitude of the carrier signal transmitted from the carrier signal transmission circuit 30 is modulated.

Further, as shown in FIG.
May be configured as a modulation circuit 50c having an FET switch 53a, a resistor 55, and a diode bridge 56. In the modulation circuit 50c, the diode bridge 56 performs full-wave rectification.

As described above, the modulation circuit 50 may be electromagnetically coupled to the data transmission / reception circuit 40 by a transformer. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, in a modulation circuit 50d having a switch 53, a resistor 55, and a coil 58, the coil 58 and the coil 42 are electromagnetically coupled. Of course, in the modulation circuit 50c, the switch 5
It is understood that 3 and resistor 55 may be replaced by the configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows a more specific configuration example of the modulation circuit 50b shown in FIG. Here, the detector 54
Can be configured with a general envelope detection circuit that passes the half-wave rectified amplitude modulated wave through a low-pass filter,
Since the operation can be easily understood by those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

Next, the operation of each unit shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the reader / writer 20, the modulation circuit 50, and the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40.
In FIG. 14, the encoder 2 of the reader / writer 20
4 uses a modified mirror code, but is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that other code systems such as Manchester can be adopted. First, as shown in FIG. 13, data (A) transmitted from an external host device or controller (not shown) to the encoder 24 via the control interface 22 receives 10110 data as shown in FIG.
01000...

In the communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of contactless information
(For example, several hundred to several thousand) or a part thereof (for example, more than ten to several tens) are simultaneously activated (operating power and clock radio waves are supplied), and one reader / writer 20 This is convenient when inspecting and initializing the non-contact information medium 10. Such application examples will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 15 is a conceptual block diagram for explaining an example in which the communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a plurality of contactless information media. FIG. 16 is a partial plan view showing an example of the non-contact information medium applicable to FIG. 15, and FIG. 17 is a partial plan view showing another example of the non-contact information medium applicable to FIG.

The communication system 1a shown in FIG. 15 is the same as the communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1 except that it has an element 70 having a plurality of non-contact information media. However,
The element 70 is disposed between the carrier signal transmitting circuit 30 and the data transmitting / receiving circuit 40. Element 70 shown in FIG.
As an example, a plurality of non-contact information media 10 shown in FIG.
a and a sheet 70b having a plurality of non-contact information media 10b shown in FIG. In addition,
The system 1a shown in FIG.
Needless to say, it is possible to provide a reader / writer 20 and the like.

In FIG. 16, a plurality of non-contact information media 10a are mounted on a wafer 70a, and each non-contact information medium 10a is moved by the reader / writer 20 only by moving the data transmitting / receiving circuit 40 without cutting them individually. Medium 10
a can be checked and / or initialized. In FIG. 17, non-contact IC tags and non-contact IC cards having various shapes can be manufactured from the non-contact information medium 10b included in the sheet 70b. The sheet 70b is in an intermediate product state, but can be inspected and / or initialized in this state. Further, although the sheets 70b are two-dimensionally arranged, it is easy to form the one-dimensional arrangement (tape shape). The non-contact information medium 10a shown in FIG. 16 and the non-contact information medium 10 shown in FIG.
It goes without saying that b can take any sequence. At the time of inspection, for example, the reader / writer 20 can select all or some of the activated non-contact information media, and at initialization, for example, the reader / writer 20 individually selects a specific non-contact information medium. ID information and the like can be written. With conventional reader / writers, it was difficult to activate multiple non-contact information media at the same time due to output limitations. The communication system 1a according to the present embodiment solves such a problem. In addition,
To limit the range of the activated non-contact information medium, for example, a coil 34 having a ferrite core 35 shown in FIG. 19 may be used.

The application example shown in FIG. 16 is effective in an inspection such as a wafer-level inspection, a test, and a process of writing initial information when the non-contact information medium 10b is configured as an on-coil IC chip, and is effective in a manufacturing apparatus. It is a target. The on-chip coil is the antenna coil 14 shown in FIG.
This is a form incorporated in the C chip 16. Such an on-coil IC chip has advantages in that it has few mounting problems and contributes to downsizing of components. The processing at the wafer level is a technique for performing the processing necessary for selecting non-defective chips in a batch state in a wafer state. This includes important manufacturing steps such as screening tests to remove devices that are likely to fail.

For example, in the case of a process called burn-in, conventionally, a burn-in process has been performed after cutting a wafer into chips and performing a package process. If wafer processing becomes possible, a significant reduction in manufacturing costs can be expected. However, it has been difficult to ensure that the probe is in contact with all the terminals in the wafer state to energize. However, if the communication system 1a of the present invention is used, it is convenient because the IC can be activated in a non-contact manner without contacting the probe with the IC of the non-contact information medium. Also,
Even if some ICs are defective, the existence of those ICs is
Does not affect the activation of Further, the conventional method using a contact type probe has a life of about 1000 times and requires replacement or the like, whereas the present system 1a which is activated in a non-contact manner does not cause such a problem. .

FIG. 18 shows an example of an apparatus 80 for setting environmental conditions such as burn-in having the system 1a of the present invention. In FIG. 18, the holding means for the wafer, the setting means, the holding means, and the moving means for the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit 40 and the modulation circuit 50 are omitted. The environmental condition setting device 80 can adopt any configuration according to various purposes as a test and inspection device.

In any of the configurations, a plurality of non-contact information media 10 before completion are arranged in a processing chamber 86 under predetermined processing conditions such as high temperature and humidification, and a carrier signal is transmitted to the non-contact information medium 10 before completion. The transmitting circuit 30 transmits a carrier signal to supply power for a test to a part or all of the non-contact information medium 10 for a rating or exceeding, and all or a part of the activated non-contact information medium 10 In response, the reader / writer 20 performs predetermined processing including screen processing and the like,
The non-contact information medium 10 that has been properly subjected to the predetermined processing is evaluated as a finished product.

In FIG. 18, reference numerals 82 and 84
Is an environmental condition setting means such as a heater, a humidifier, and a control device. The reader / writer 20 and the carrier signal transmission circuit 30 (not shown) may be disposed inside the device 80 or may be disposed outside as long as proper operation thereof is ensured.

The application example shown in FIG. 17 is effective, for example, for inspecting a nonvolatile memory (eg, the memory 108 shown in FIG. 2) such as an EEPROM of the non-contact information medium 10 and writing initial data.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the invention.

[0064]

According to the communication system as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the operating power transmission system and the data transmission system for the non-contact information medium are separated from each other. Since they can be set separately, the degree of freedom of the communication system is increased. According to the communication system as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the antenna can be reduced in size and can be locally activated only for some of the media when a plurality of non-contact information media are present. . According to the processing device, the environmental condition setting device, and the activation device as one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, all or a part of the plurality of non-contact information media can be simultaneously activated in a non-contact manner by the carrier signal. No probe is required for activation. Therefore, burn-in processing at the wafer level or the like can be performed, so that the number of steps, the processing time, and the apparatus configuration can be simplified. According to the method for manufacturing a non-contact information medium as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of non-contact information media before completion can be completed by activating the non-contact information medium in a processing chamber in a non-contact manner. No need. Therefore, various processes at the wafer level can be performed, and the number of processes and the manufacturing time can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a communication system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a contactless IC card of the communication system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective plan view of the non-contact IC card shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a reader / writer, a data transmission / reception antenna circuit, and a modulation circuit illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a carrier signal transmission circuit illustrated in FIG. 1;

6 is a plan view showing another configuration example of the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing still another configuration example of the data transmission / reception antenna circuit shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing still another configuration example of the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit shown in FIG. 4;

9 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a connection between a data transmission / reception antenna circuit and a modulation circuit illustrated in FIG. 4 and a circuit configuration.

10 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the connection and the circuit configuration between the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit and the modulation circuit shown in FIG. 4;

11 is a circuit diagram showing still another example of the connection and circuit configuration between the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit and the modulation circuit shown in FIG. 4;

12 is a circuit diagram showing still another example of the connection and the circuit configuration between the data transmitting / receiving antenna circuit and the modulation circuit shown in FIG. 4;

13 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a more specific circuit configuration of the modulation circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the reader / writer 20, the modulation circuit 50, and the data transmission / reception antenna circuit 40.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example in which the communication system shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a plurality of contactless information media.

16 is a partial plan view showing an example of a non-contact information medium applicable to FIG.

FIG. 17 is a partial plan view showing another example of the non-contact information medium applicable to FIG.

18 is a schematic sectional view of an environmental condition setting device to which the system of FIG. 15 can be applied.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram for explaining a case where the carrier signal transmission circuit shown in FIG. 1 has a ferrite core.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Non-contact information medium 20 Reader / writer 24 Encoder 26 Demodulator / Decoder 30 Carrier signal transmission antenna circuit 32 Carrier signal source 34 Antenna coil 35 Ferrite core 40 Data transmission / reception circuit 42 Antenna coil 44 Capacitor 46 Ferrite core 50 Modulation circuit 52 Modulation Instrument 54 Detector 60 RF field 80 Environmental condition setting device 82 Environmental condition setting means 84 Environmental condition setting means 86 Processing room

Claims (14)

[Claims] A non-contact information medium having a semiconductor memory and a first antenna; an information device performing data communication with the non-contact information medium; and a non-contact information medium having a second antenna for transmitting a carrier signal to the non-contact information medium. A transmission device for transmitting to the contact information medium, a data transmission / reception device having a resonance circuit capable of resonating with the carrier signal, and assisting data communication between the non-contact information medium and the information device; A modulation device that modulates a parameter, wherein the carrier signal is used for generating an operating power and a clock of the non-contact information medium, and data from the information device is input to the modulation device to provide the data. A communication system that executes communication between the non-contact information medium and the information device by modulating the parameter according to 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said carrier signal has an ISM frequency. 3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the data transmitting / receiving device further includes an antenna with a ferromagnetic material connected to the resonance circuit. 4. A non-contact information medium, an information device capable of transmitting a data signal containing predetermined information to the non-contact information medium, and a carrier signal for generating operating power of the non-contact information medium, A communication system comprising: an activation device that can be transmitted to a non-contact information medium and is provided independently of the information device and activates the contacted information medium. 5. The communication system according to claim 4, further comprising a modulator connected to said information device and generating said data signal by modulating said carrier signal based on said predetermined information. 6. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein said carrier signal is an ISM frequency without modulation by data. 7. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein said activating device has an antenna with a ferromagnetic material. 8. A plurality of non-contact information media, an activation device capable of activating one or more of the non-contact information media by transmitting a carrier signal to the non-contact information medium, An information device for transmitting a data signal containing predetermined information to at least one of the non-contact information media and performing predetermined processing. 9. The processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of non-contact information media are arranged in a processing chamber, and the processing apparatus further includes an environment setting device for setting an environment in the processing chamber. 10. A step of disposing a plurality of non-contact information media before completion in a processing chamber; and activating one or more of the non-contact information media by an activation device for transmitting a carrier signal to the non-contact information medium before completion. Simultaneously activating, transmitting a data signal containing predetermined information from at least one of the activated non-contact information medium from an information device independent of the activation device to a predetermined state, A method for producing a non-contact information medium, comprising: a step of performing a process; and a step of evaluating the non-contact information medium appropriately processed through the predetermined process as a finished product. 11. A processing chamber for accommodating a plurality of non-contact information media formed in a semiconductor wafer shape and performing a predetermined process, environment setting means for setting an environment in the processing chamber, and the plurality of non-contact information. Activating means for non-contactly activating an arbitrary number of non-contact information media to be subjected to the predetermined processing among the media in a unit of the wafer. 12. A storage member for storing a plurality of non-contact information media arranged in a predetermined arrangement, and non-contactly activating an arbitrary number of the non-contact information media among the plurality of non-contact information media. An activation device having activation means. 13. The activation device according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined arrangement is two-dimensional, and the storage member has a sheet shape. 14. The activation device according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined arrangement is one-dimensional, and the storage member has a tape shape.