The AT88SC1608 provides 17,408 bits of serial EEPROM memory organized as one configuration zone of 128 bytes and eight user zones of 256 bytes each. This device is optimized as a “secure memory” for the smart card market, secure identification for electronic data transfer, or components in a system, without the requirement of an internal microprocessor.

The embedded authentication protocol allows the memory and the host to authenticate each other. When this device is used with a host which incorporates a microcontroller (e.g., AT89C51, AT89C2051, AT90S1200), the system provides an “anti-wiretapping” configuration. The device and the host exchange “challenges” issued from a random generator and verify their values through a specific cryptographic function included in each part. When both agree on the same result, the access to the memory is permitted.