For the purposes of this document, TRF79xxA refers to the following devices unless otherwise specified: TRF7970A and TRF7964A
This guide contains a compilation of frequently asked questions concerning the TRF79xxA series of devices. It serves as a central resource for evaluating or designing with the TRF79xxA devices. This guide includes links to recommended evaluation modules, TI Designs, firmware examples, and other collateral that is relevant for the TRF79xxA family.
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The TRF7970A and TRF7964A are high-performance 13.56-MHz analog front end (AFE) ICs for Near Field Communication (NFC) and RFID reader/writer applications with integrated data-framing system for ISO/IEC 15693, ISO/IEC 18000-3, ISO/IEC 14443A/B, and FeliCa. The TRF7970A supports all three NFC operating modes (reader/writer, peer-to-peer and card emulation), whereas the pin-to-pin and firmware compatible TRF7964A supports only the reader/writer mode. The devices have integrated encode, decode, and data framing capability for data rates up to 848 kbps, wide supply voltage range support (2.7 V to 5.5 V), large FIFO buffer for RF communication, and an innovative RF field detector. Relevant NFC or RFID software stack libraries are offered to allow for easy development efforts and robust cost-effective designs. Eight selectable power modes and ultra-low-power operation enable long battery life applications. The devices also offer unparalleled flexibility through the various direct communication modes on the device, which allow implementations of custom and proprietary protocols as well as other 13.56-MHz standards. The receiver system enables AM and PM demodulation using a dual-input architecture to maximize communication robustness.
For this section, TRF79xxA includes the TRF7960A, TRF7962A, TRF7963A, TRF7964A, and TRF7970A.
Each TRF79xxA device includes integrated protocol handling for certain ISO/IEC or NFC Forum standards. Table 1 lists the protocols supported by all TRF79xxA devices in the TI portfolio.
| Standard | TRF7960A, TRF7964A | TRF7962A | TRF7963A | TRF7970A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISO standards | ISO/IEC 14443A | ISO/IEC 15693 | ISO/IEC 14443A | ISO/IEC 14443A |
| ISO/IEC 14443B | ISO/IEC 18000-3 | ISO/IEC 14443B | ISO/IEC 14443B | |
| FeliCa (JIS X 6319-4) | FeliCa (JIS X 6319-4) | FeliCa (JIS X 6319-4) | ||
| ISO/IEC 15693 | ISO/IEC 15693 | |||
| ISO/IEC 18000-3 | ISO/IEC 18000-3 | |||
| ISO/IEC 18092 | ||||
| ISO/IEC 21481 | ||||
| NFC Forum reader/writer standards | Type 2 | Type 5 | Type 2 | Type 2 |
| Type 3 | Type 3 | Type 3 | ||
| Type 4A | Type 4A | Type 4A | ||
| Type 4B | Type 4B | Type 4B | ||
| Type 5 | Type 5 | |||
| NFC Forum peer-to-peer standards | N/A | N/A | N/A | Type A (initiator and target) |
| Type F (initiator and target) | ||||
| NFC Forum card emulation standards | N/A | N/A | N/A | Type 4A |
| Type 4B |
It is possible to communicate with unsupported NFC/RFID tags and devices by operating the TRF79xxA in Direct Mode 0, which requires the host MCU to run at a multiple of 13.56 MHz to encode and decode the raw subcarrier signal. This allows the raw data to be received by the host MCU, which must process the received data including handling all packet and byte framing, parity checks, and CRC calculations.
All of the latest TI EVM and example firmware offerings are for the TRF7970A. Therefore, TI recommends using a LaunchPad™ development kit and a BoosterPack™ plug-in module for the TRF7970A for evaluation of all TRF79xxA devices.
For applications that need NFC functionality such as Peer-to-Peer mode, Card Emulation mode, or the ability to support reading tags that use NDEF for data formatting, the following combination of hardware and firmware is recommended:
For RFID applications that need to detect only NFC/RFID tags or read non-NDEF data from NFC/RFID tags, the following combination of hardware and firmware is recommended:
If it is not clear whether or not NDEF support is required, see Section 2.1 for further details.
The TRF79xxA devices covered in this FAQ guide are software compatible with the TRF7970A for the supported ISO/IEC and NFC standards.
The expected read range for NFC/RFID tags is an application-specific characteristic. Factors that affect the read range performance for an NFC/RFID system include: the antenna sizes of both the NFC/RFID reader and NFC/RFID tag, the output power of the NFC/RFID reader, the NFC/RFID protocol being used, and the antenna tuning parameters.
A typical expected read range with the DLP-7970ABP BoosterPack plug-in module (3.3-V powered and tuned for ISO/IEC 14443 and ISO/IEC 15693 technologies), MSP-EXP430G2ET LaunchPad development kit with TI firmware, and credit card sized TI Tag-It ISO/IEC 15693 tags is within 3 to 5 cm.
It is possible to have longer read ranges with an optimized system for specific standards. For example, ISO/IEC 15693 uses lower data rates and allows the reader antenna to be tuned to have a tighter bandwidth, which improves read range performance. If an antenna equal in size to the DLP-7970ABP onboard antenna has been tuned for a narrower bandwidth, and the TRF79xxA is powered at 5 V (to maximize output power), it is possible to have a read range of 8 to 10 cm with credit card sized ISO/IEC 15693 tags. Using a much larger antenna such as a 300-mm by 300-mm antenna and credit card sized TI Tag-It ISO/IEC 15693 tags, it is possible to have up to 20-cm read range with the TRF79xxA.
Antenna design and tuning is covered in full detail in Antenna design guide for the TRF79xxA.
To achieve read ranges up to 1 m, using a high-power HF RFID reader (for example, 1 W to 10 W) and large gate antennas (for example, 800 mm by 600 mm) are required. TI does not provide or support any designs that can achieve such ranges.
