NFC Reader IC and Modular Kit Target Contactless Designs
To help developers explore creative applications for contactless near-field communication (NFC) technology, STMicroelectronics released a development kit that features the company's ST25R200 reader/writer IC. The solution offers an advanced design for strong and clear wireless connections, with low power consumption as well as controls for signal quality and power management.
The STEVAL-25R200SA kit for reader evaluation includes a compact ST25R200 board ready for power-up, and multiple antennas to let developers try out single, dual, and flexible designs. It also comes with a 50-Ω antenna interface and programmable tags.
The modular kit can help create proof-of-concept models for functional short-range wireless communications for device pairing, configuring settings, or product authentication to ensure brand protection. The board and antennas, which are NFC-certified, can be useful for developers who may not be experts in NFC technology to ease the design process. The cost-effective chip and STEVAL-25R200SA evaluation kit provide a large set of ready-to-use antenna configurations.
The ST25R200 NFC reader leverages the company's noise-suppression receiver for high immunity to interference, even when close to a noise source like an LCD panel in the same package. Also in the mix are an advanced analog front end as well as standard NFC-A/B (ISO 14443A/B) and NFC-V (ISO 15693) data framing. Other features include enhanced low-power card detection, which eases wake-up, and a 1.2-W transmitter with dynamic power output control to regulate the field strength and overshoot/undershoot protection for consistent signaling during data exchanges.
Housed in a compact 4- × 4-mm, 24-pin TQFN package, it has a peripheral I/O voltage range from 2.7 to 5.5 V and an operating temperature of –40 to 85°C. Multiple operating modes aid power management, reducing device current to as low as 1 µA. In reset mode, the IC draws 0.1 µA.
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About the Author
Alix Paultre
Editor-at-Large, Microwaves & RF
Alix is Editor-at-Large for Microwaves & RF.
An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the U.S. military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications, most recently as Editor-in-Chief of Power Systems Design.
Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.