ST’s ST21NFCA Contactless Communication SoC for NFC (Near Field Communication) Solutions

STMicroelectronics (ST) announced the ST21NFCA, a new contactless communication solution. ST21NFCA is an SoC designed for supporting 13.56 MHz contactless communication, including Near Field Communication (NFC) functions in the three operating modes: card emulation, reader and peer-to-peer communication. ST21NFCA contactless communication chip integrates all the necessary hardware and software for a complete NFC system, including support for all the NFC proximity and vicinity standards.

ST21NFCA Contactless Communication SoC - Block Diagram

NFC is a fast emerging short-range wireless connectivity standard that significantly simplifies the interaction of consumer devices in a range of applications. NFC can be implemented in various devices, such as in a mobile phone and  to enable secure electronic payments. While use in mobile phones is expected to be the primary driver for the deployment of the technology, other uses can include ‘contactless’ banking, ’smart poster’ and  transport ticketing  applications.

ST’s ST21NFCA contactless communication IC is suitable to be designed into RF reader systems, as well as RF Tag or contactless smart cards. ST21NFCA also integrates the necessary Host Controller Interface (HCI) functions, in addition to interfaces for both the I2Cbus and SPIbus, and is compliant with the ETSI specification for Single Wire Protocol (SWP), which describes the connection between a mobile phone’s UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) and the NFC controller.

Features of ST21NFCA Contactless Communication SoC

• Operating modes of ST21NFCA:
  • Card emulation
  • Reader
  • Peer-to-peer communication
• ST21NFCA hardware features
  • Enhanced 8/16-bit CPU core with 16 Mbytes linear addressable memory
  • 112 Kbytes of User ROM
  • 4 Kbytes of RAM
  • 36 Kbytes of EEPROM including 64 bytes User OTP area
  • High integrated analog front end (AFE) for RF transmission and reception including automatic card and field detection modes
  • SIM and ST21NFCA power management functions
  • Three 8-bit timers with interrupt capability
  • Optimized power consumption modes
  • Battery Off and Battery Low modes supported in Card Emulation mode
• ST21NFCA RF communications
  • ISO/IEC 14443 A&B
  • ISO/IEC 15693
  • ISO/IEC 18000-3 Mod1
  • ECMA340 (NFCIP-1)
  • Supports FeliCa cards as described in ECMA340 specification
  • All RF communications are available in card and reader modes
• ST21NFCA communication interfaces
  • I2C Slave interface
  • Single Wire Protocol (SWP) interface
  • SPI Slave interface
  • Asynchronous receiver transmitter ISO/IEC 7816-3 master interface supporting T=0 and T=1 protocols
• ST21NFCA security features
  • True random number generator
  • Hardware DES accelerator
  • ISO/IEC 3309 CRC calculation block
  • Unique serial number on each die
• Electrical characteristics
  • Standby current: < 75 μA (typ.)
  • Card emulation: < 8 mA in normal mode
  • Standby current for Reader mode: ~200 μA in Card Detection mode
  • Supports Class B and C for UICC
  • Reader mode: < 70 mA (typ.)
  • 3V power supply
• Software features
  • Includes all drivers supporting the handling and host protocols for contact and contactless interfaces
  • Includes complete firmware driving switch modes between operating modes and host controller interface functions (HCI)
• ST21NFCA validation tools
  • An evaluation and debugging board is available for complete integration.

ST21NFCA Contactless Communication SoC is packed in QFN32 Packages. The samples will be available in Q2 2008. Volume production is scheduled to be available in Q4 2008. Price: $3.

More info : Near Field Communication (NFC) Microcontroller - STMicroelectronics