Electronic passport secured against unauthorized reading

Abstract

A secured document, in the form of a booklet made up of at least one page that can be folded about a folding axis, includes a transponder provided with an electronic chip including memory for data storage and a transponder antenna. The secured document further includes two amplifier antennas, separate from the antenna of the transponder, arranged on pages of the booklet so that, in the open document position, one of the amplifier antennas amplifies the electromagnetic flux picked up by the antenna of the transponder to allow the document to communicate with a remote reader, and, in the closed document position, the amplifier antennas are configured so that the electromagnetic flux picked up by the antenna of the transponder is below a minimal threshold that allows the electronic chip to communicate with a remote reader.

Claims

1. A secure document having the form of a booklet composed of at least one sheet that can be folded about a folding axis, the document comprising: a transponder provided with an electronic chip comprising a memory for the storage of data and a transponder antenna, and a first amplification antenna and a second amplification antenna, wherein said first antenna and said second antenna are distinct from one another and distinct from the antenna of the transponder, wherein said first antenna and said second antenna are disposed on separate pages of the document so that, when the document is in the open position, one of the first and second amplification antennas amplifies electromagnetic flux picked up by the antenna of the transponder to allow the document to communicate with a remote reader, wherein the first amplification antenna and the second amplification antenna are configured so that, when the document is in the closed position, the electromagnetic flux picked by the antenna of the transponder is below a minimum threshold that allows the electronic chip to communicate with a remote reader.

2. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second amplification antennas are configured so that the electromagnetic fluxes that they generate when the booklet is in the closed position are substantially opposed so as to cancel the amplification effect and prevent the communication between the transponder and a remote reader.

3. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second amplification antennas have antenna geometries that are substantially identical and symmetrical with respect to the folding axis so as to be overlaid when the document is in the closed position.

4. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second amplification antennas each has a resonance frequency capable of ensuring, when an internal sheet bearing the antenna of the transponder is pressed against one of the first and second amplification antennas when the document is in the open position, a sufficient electromagnetic coupling between said one of the first and second amplification antennas and the antenna of the transponder to allow the electronic chip to communicate with a remote reader.

5. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second amplification antennas are booster antennas comprising turns in a ID1 format connected to a concentrator antenna.

6. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transponder is situated on an internal page of the booklet, and the first and second amplification antennas, distinct from the antenna of the transponder, are disposed on pages of the booklet situated on either side of the internal page bearing the transponder.

7. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transponder and one of the first and second amplification antennas are situated on one and the same outer page or cover page of the document, and the other of the first and second amplification antennas is situated on the other cover page or on an internal page of the document.

8. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transponder and one of the first and second amplification antennas are situated on one and the same internal page of the document, and the other one of the first and second amplification antennas booster antenna is situated on an external page or cover page of the document.

9. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the first and second amplification antennas has a resonance frequency lower than a carrier frequency used by the transponder, the other one of the first and second amplification antennas has a resonance frequency higher than the frequency of the carrier used by the transponder.

10. The secure document as claimed in claim 9, wherein the frequency of the carrier used by the transponder is 13.56 MHz, and the resonance frequencies of the first and second amplification antennas are spaced apart by approximately 2 MHz.

11. The secure document as claimed in claim 1, wherein a page of data which bears the transponder is made of polycarbonate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(1) The invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached figures in which:

(2) FIG. 1 represents an equivalent electrical circuit diagram of the electronic passport according to the invention.

(3) FIG. 2 represents a first embodiment of the electronic passport according to the invention.

(4) FIG. 3 represents a second embodiment of the electronic passport according to the invention.

(5) FIG. 4 represents a third embodiment of the electronic passport according to the invention.

(6) The reader is referred to FIG. 1, which represents an equivalent electrical circuit diagram of the electronic passport according to the invention. From an electrical point of view, the electronic document or passport 20 comprises a transponder 2, and two booster antennas 1,3.

(7) The transponder 2 is composed of a microelectronic chip 4 provided with its internal capacitance (not represented) and an inductance 8, the capacitance and the inductance forming a resonant radiofrequency circuit allowing communication in contactless mode.

(8) The two booster antennas (1,3) each comprise, conventionally, a first inductance (6,6′) formed by turns of large size, notably in the format called ID1 in the ISO 14443-1 standard, and a second inductance (5,5′) formed by turns of smaller size intended to be coupled, in turn, with the turns of the inductance 8 of the transponder 2 in order to amplify the signal from the transponder and allow radiofrequency communication between the transponder and a remote contactless reader.

(9) FIGS. 2 to 4 represent several concrete dispositions of the transponder 2 and of the booster antennas 1,3 on a passport booklet 20.

(10) In a first embodiment (FIG. 2), the transponder 2 is incorporated in an internal page 12 of the booklet of the passport, and the two booster antennas (1,3) are disposed in the cover pages (11,10) of the passport. This configuration offers the advantage that the internal page 12 which bears the transponder can be a conventional data page, made of polycarbonate. In this configuration, to ensure radiofrequency communication between the transponder and a remote reader, it is necessary to press the page 12 which bears the transponder 2 against one of the cover pages (10,11) of the passport, in order to ensure an electromagnetic coupling between the transponder and one of the booster antennas (1,3).

(11) In a second embodiment (FIG. 3), the transponder 2 is incorporated in one of the cover pages (10,11) which bears the booster antennas (1,3). In this case, the passport can communicate with a remote reader as soon as it is in open position, since the antenna of the transponder will always be coupled with a booster antenna, in this case with the booster antenna 3 incorporated in the back cover page 10 in the version represented. The other booster antenna 1 can be incorporated in the other cover page 11, or in an internal page 12 of the document.

(12) In a third embodiment (FIG. 4), the transponder 2 and one of the booster antennas (1,3) are both incorporated in an internal page 12 of the passport booklet. Here again, the passport can communicate with a remote reader as soon as it is in open position, since the antenna of the transponder will always be coupled with one of the booster antennas, in this case with the booster antenna 1.

(13) It is essential to note that, according to the invention, the booster antennas (1,3), whatever their positions on the pages of the passport booklet, are configured so that, when the passport is in closed position, the electromagnetic fluxes that they generate when they are placed in the electromagnetic field of a reader, are substantially canceled out, or at least are sufficiently disturbed for the resulting field not to allow radiofrequency communication between the transponder 2 and a remote reader.

(14) In order to obtain this result, it is useful for the geometries of the booster antennas (1,3) to be identical or almost identical. For example, the turns of the inductances (5,6) of the first booster antenna 1 have the same size and the same position on the passport page as, respectively, the turns of the inductances (5′,6′) of the second booster antenna 3.

(15) The booster antennas (1,3) are advantageously produced by etching from booklet pages coated with a thin layer of aluminum or equivalent.

(16) Tests have shown that the best results in terms of blocking communication when the passport is in closed position are obtained when the adjustment capacitances (7,7′) of the two booster antennas (1,3) are slightly different so that the resonance peaks of the two booster antennas are offset by a certain value. Thus, when the operating frequency of the transponder is of the order of 13.56 MHz, as is the case conventionally, it is optimal for the resonance frequencies of the booster antennas to be, for one, lower than 13.56 MHz and, for the other, higher than 13.56 MHz, and for them to be separated by a value of the order of 2 MHz.

Advantages of the Invention

(17) The invention meets the aims set and provides a way to mitigate the limitations of known electronic passports.

(18) In particular, the secure document according to the invention is effective in closed position, whatever the surface (front, rear) of the document exposed to the electromagnetic flux of a reader, while known secure documents which are provided with an electromagnetic shielding leaf are effective primarily when the surface presented to the reader is that which bears the shielding leaf, but are less effective when the face presented to the reader does not bear a shielding leaf.

(19) Moreover, because of the incorporation of the electromagnetic shielding functionality in the passport itself, the latter offers better ergonomics because there is no need to remove a sleeve or a metal insert.

(20) Furthermore, the techniques for fabricating antennas by etching layers of aluminum allow inductances of precise value to be produced, and at low cost price.