Hitachi Cable, Ltd. is presently preparing a manufacturing system for 125 kHz contactless IC cards, contactless coin-shaped IC tags, and contact IC card module boards and planning an aggressive entry into these businesses.
IC cards and tags can store more information than those using magnetic tape and are also more secure. In Europe and the United States, contact IC cards are used in public telephones, while contactless IC cards are widely used to monitor commercial flows of various products. There are currently plans in Japan to use contactless IC cards in place of train or subway passes. We forecast a huge demand for IC cards and Tags.
We are already putting in place a manufacturing system that can turn out 50,000 IC cards and 50,000 IC tags per month and are planning to increase output to ten times this level by the end of fiscal 2003. Forecast sales for fiscal 2002 are approximately 500 million yen. This is expected to rise to approximately 4 billion yen by fiscal 2004.

The following are special features of our IC cards and tags business.

1. Production and sales of contactless IC cards

(1) Our 125 kHz contactless IC card is able to receive signals from up to 50 cm

Contactless IC cards are made of an antenna which receives radio frequency signals and a semiconductor chip. There are two types of these cards, one which receives 125 kHz radio frequency signals, and one which receives 13.56 MHz radio frequency signals. 125 kHz IC cards are able to receive radio frequency signals from farther away than 13.56 MHz cards and are also more water-resistant. On the other hand, the antenna coil for the 13.56 MHz cards needs only 4-6 loops, while the antenna coil for the 125 kHz IC card requires more than 200 loops. This means that mass-producing a compact and stable frequency antenna for 125 kHz IC cards is very difficult. However, as Japan's premier magnet wires producer, we have leveraged our existing technology to overcome these problems and established a system for the mass production of stable frequency antennas. In doing so, we have increased the maximum distance from which antenna can receive signals to 50 cm.

(2) The use of environmentally friendly PET-G resin

Because the antenna for a 125 kHz contactless IC card requires more than 200 loops, it is very difficult to attain the ISO standard thickness of 0.76 mm. Therefore, highly workable polyvinyl chloride is usually used to make these cards. We are able to use PET-G*1 resin (nonchlorinated resin) for our IC cards by taking advantage of resin processing technology developed through experience in the production of industrial rubber products. This type of resin is not widely used because it is prone to air bubbles and distortion. We are the first company in the world to successfully make thin and flat 125kHz cards using PET-G resin, and mass production is now possible.

2. Manufacture and sales of IC tags and the development of system solutions

Leveraging the technology for manufacturing contactless IC cards, we are also producing coin-shaped IC tags (outside diameter of 20-50 mm). In addition, we are designing and manufacturing readers/writers*2, as well as antennas to be used with these readers/writers, to meet our customers' needs. Moreover, we are constructing system solutions for distribution and process control using IC tags.

3. Manufacture and sales of module boards (interposers) for use with contact IC cards

We are mass-producing leadframes and TAB tapes*3, widely used as interposers in semiconductor package materials, and are leveraging this technology to mass-produce glass epoxy as a material for module boards used for contact IC card connectors. Usually, module boards using glass epoxy are processed and manufactured as sheets, but our company is able to process them in a Reel-to-Reel tape format, which is well-suited to mass production and minute wiring.

We plan to develop our IC card and tag business, from the manufacturing and selling of contactless IC cards, contactless coin-shaped IC tags, and contact IC card module boards to the creation of system solutions using these products.

*1	PET-G PET-G is a solid copolyester manufactured by Eastman Chemical Company in the United States and is a non-chlorinated resin. PET-G is weaker and less heat-resistant than the usual PET (polyethylene telephthalate), but is nearly as workable as vinyl chloride in making IC cards. PET has a crystalline structure when the two elements, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, are combined. When a third element, cyclohexane dimethanol, is added, PET-G takes on an amorphous structure.
*2	Readers/Writers Because contactless IC cards and tags do not have internal power sources such as batteries, the semiconductor chip makes use of electromagnetic induction generated by an antenna through the reception of radio frequency signals (charge waves). A writer transmits radio frequency signals to IC cards or IC tags which record information on the internal semiconductor chip, and a reader reads this information. Our reader and writer have these two functions.
*3	TAB Tape (Tape Automated Bonding) TAB tape is polyimide film laminated with copper foil. This foil is micro-fabricated to form a high-density wiring layer.

Producer of these Goods:
Densen Works
3-1-1 Sukegawa-cho, Hitachi City,
Ibaraki Prefecture 317-0065