EM Microelectronic

EM began as a division of Ebauches Electroniques SA and was founded in 1975.{{Cite web |title=EM Microelectronic - Swatch Group |url=https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/companies-brands/electronic-systems/em-microelectronic |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.swatchgroup.com}} In August 2022, they partnered up with Exeger, a manufacturer of solar cells.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-30 |title=Exeger partners with EM Microelectronic to bring ultra-low power devices to the masses |url=https://www.exeger.com/press-release/exeger-partners-with-em-microelectronic-to-bring-ultra-low-power-devices-to-the-masses/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Exeger |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Exeger partners with EM Microelectronic - Swatch Group |url=https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/swatch-group/innovation-powerhouse/internet-things/exeger-partners-em-microelectronic |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=www.swatchgroup.com}}

EM Microelectronic has a design center at its headquarters in Marin, in the French speaking part of Switzerland near the city of Neuchâtel.

File:EM Microelectronic headquarter.jpg

EM has subsidiaries and additional design centers:

• EM Microelectronic - US Inc., located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., is a subsidiary of EM Microelectronic.

File:EM Microelectronic US Building.jpg

• ASICentrum s.r.o.{{Cite web|url=http://www.asicentrum.com/en_index.php|title=ASICentrum|website=www.asicentrum.com}} is a design center located in Prague, Czech Republic. It is involved in the design of digital, analog and mixed-signal ICs.

EM Microelectronic specialises in the design and production of ultra low power, low voltage integrated circuits for battery-operated and field-powered applications in consumer, automotive and industrial products. It has in-house semiconductor fabrication facilities and also uses external foundries.

EM Microelectronic's products include RFID circuits, smart cards ICs, ultra-low power microcontrollers, energy harvesting, power management, LCD drivers and displays, optical sensors and sensor interface ICs.

EM manufactures not only standard circuits and ASICs, but also systems and modules for applications such as access control, radio frequency identification, mobile phones, mass-market consumer appliances, alarm and security systems, utility and heating meters, sensor signal processing, controlling, car immobilization, electronic automotive subsystems and many more.

Their microcontrollers use CoolRISC instruction set, instructions are 22 bits wide and operate on 8-bit data.

EM Microelectronic designs and develops Bluetooth Low Energy products such as the EM9304,{{Cite web|url=http://www.emmicroelectronic.com/product/standard-protocols/em9304|title=EM9304|website=EM Microelectronic}} aimed at smallest footprint and lowest power consumption applications. When the 32 bit EM9304 launched in 2016 it was the smallest Bluetooth 4.2 SoC available.{{cite web|access-date=2023-12-06 |date=2016-11-08 |title=Market's smallest bluetooth 4.2 SoC packs 32 bit CPU and can work standalone |publisher=eeherald.com |url=https://www.eeherald.com/section/new-products/owns20161108001.html}}

EM is an associate member of the Bluetooth SIG and is contributing through several working group to improve global specification and expertise in ultra-low power design for Bluetooth low energy wireless technology.{{Cite web|url=http://www.emmicroelectronic.com/expertise/communication/rf-technologies|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315072030/http://www.emmicroelectronic.com/Line.asp?IdLine=53|url-status=dead|title=RF Technologies|archivedate=March 15, 2013|website=EM Microelectronic}}

EM Micro has also a proprietary link family of products with 1Mbits, 2 Mbit/s and Long range solutions.{{buzzword inline|date=July 2019}}

EM started its RFID activity in the 1980s, and its portfolio includes passive, semi-active and active RFID products, in frequency ranges including LF, HF and UHF.{{cite web|access-date=2023-12-06 |date=2013-03-13 |title=EM Microelectronic’s EM4124 UHF Gen2 Chip Earns EPCglobal® Interoperability Certification |publisher=eejournal.com |url=https://www.eejournal.com/industry_news/20130313-05/?printView=true}}

The popularity of EM Microelectronic's range of ~125 kHz RFID devices has led to product from other manufacturers being advertised as "EM4100 compatible" although this may simply mean that the active device embedded in the RFID tag/card is an EM Microelectronic product.

EM Microelectronic developed UHF RFID ICs in the early 1990s and launched the first mass retail deployment in 2003, with Marks & Spencer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.secureidnews.com/news-item/em-microelectronic-supplies-uhf-rfid-chips-for-marks-spencers-trial-to-improve-supply-chain-efficiency/|title=EM MICROELECTRONIC SUPPLIES UHF RFID CHIPS FOR MARKS & SPENCER'S TRIAL TO IMPROVE SUPPLY CHAIN EFFICIENCY}}{{Cite web|url=http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/archive/2005/18022005_backgroundtomarksspencersbusinesstrialofrfidinitsclothingsupplychain|title=BACKGROUND TO MARKS & SPENCER'S BUSINESS TRIAL OF RFID IN ITS CLOTHING SUPPLY CHAIN|website=BACKGROUND TO MARKS & SPENCER'S BUSINESS TRIAL OF RFID IN ITS CLOTHING SUPPLY CHAIN}}

By 2008, EM had shipped 250 million UHF ICs to into the Marks & Spencer project.

In 2015, EM Microelectronic released em|echo, a range of chips combining UHF and HF RFID communication, or RAIN RFID and NFC, a combination it calls “RAINFC”.{{Cite web|url=https://echo.emmicroelectronic.com/|title=em|echo-V | ECHO | EM Microelectronic|website=echo.emmicroelectronic.com}}

This concept allows using the same RFID tag for the logistics and the consumer interaction with a product.

In 2020, EM launched the second generation of this family, em|echo-V, awarded “Best New Product” by RFID Journal{{Cite web|url=https://www.rfidjournal.com/subscribe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420044724/https://www.rfidjournal.com/subscribe|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 20, 2020|title=Subscribe}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/services/archive/2020/emecho-v-receives-best-new-product-award|title=EM|echo-V receives “Best new product” award - Swatch Group|website=www.swatchgroup.com}}

• Application-specific integrated circuit
• Bluetooth low energy
• Microcontroller
• RFID

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.emmicroelectronic.com/ EM Microelectronic-Marin corporate website]
• [http://www.priority1design.com.au/em4100_protocol.html EM4100 Protocol Description] (retrieved 20 January 2013)]

Category:Semiconductor companies of Switzerland

Category:Companies based in Neuchâtel