ST releases NFC reader chip with heartbeat detection

STMicroelectronics has released an NFC chip that supports active waveshaping and heartbeat detection, enabling developers and manufacturers to create smaller and more efficient contactless payment solutions and ensure devices comply with EMVCo 3.1 specifications.

The ST25R3916B and ST25R3917B are high performance NFC universal devices supporting NFC initiator, NFC target, NFC reader and NFC card emulation modes when applicable.

Being fully compliant with EMVCo 3.1a analog and digital, this NFC IC is optimized for POS terminal applications, and enables fast EMVCo certification cycles, even under harsh conditions, with antenna around noisy LCD displays.

The ST25R3916B device includes an advanced analog front end (AFE) and a highly integrated data framing system for ISO 18092 passive and active initiator, ISO 18092 passive and active target, NFC-A/B (ISO 14443A/B) reader including higher bit rates, NFC-F (FeliCa™) reader, NFC-V (ISO 15693) reader up to 53 kbps, and NFC-A / NFC-F card emulation. The ST25R3917B provides a reduced feature set compared to the ST25R3916B.

Special stream and transparent modes of the AFE and framing system is used to implement other custom protocols in reader or card emulation mode.

The ST25R3916B and ST25R3917B feature high RF output power to directly drive antennas at high efficiency.

The ST25R3916B and ST25R3917B include additional features, making them incomparable for low power applications. The presence of a card is detected by performing a measurement of the amplitude or phase of the antenna signal. They also contain a low power RC oscillator and wake-up timer to automatically wake-up the ST25R3916B and ST25R3917B after a selected time period and check for a presence of a tag using one or more techniques of low power detection of card presence (phase or amplitude).