NFC-tag IC enhancements boost flexibility

It lets the host system access the tag’s on-chip EEPROM more quickly and easily.

Writing to the EEPROM on the new ST25DV-I2C tags, via the I2C interface, is now as fast as standard EEPROM and allows flexible use of the tag to reduce system bill-of-materials costs.

Also, designers can now configure the tag’s I2C address to ensure coexistence with other devices on the bus.

As a Type 5 NFC tag certified by the NFC Forum, the ST25DV-I2C supports contactless interaction with 13.56MHz RFID readers and NFC phones, permitting common use cases such as tap-to-connect pairing with NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) messages.

The new tags also extend wireless capabilities, including support for arbitration that allows more convenient access to data written into the EEPROM through the RF interface.

With its extra performance and flexibility, this latest evolution of the ST25DV-I2C boosts productivity and efficiency in industrial applications such as smart metering, asset tracking, and logistics, and brings superior user experiences to medical equipment, smart-home devices and lighting, smart retail labels, and consumer products.

ST’s ST25DV tags can fulfil multiple use cases throughout a product’s lifetime, including configuration and product tracking, user features, field maintenance, and end-of-life management.

The new tags retain their robustness and convenient features including support for Fast Transfer Mode and energy harvesting. ST’s innovative Fast Transfer Mode leverages a 256-Byte buffer to accelerate handling large files such as a host-system firmware update.

Integrated circuitry to control energy harvesting provides an unregulated output voltage for powering external components in battery-less applications.

ST’s ST25DV dynamic tags are compliant with the NFC Forum Type-5 specification and contain up to 64Kbits of EEPROM, with features including configurable password protection for user memory and an interrupt pin that can be programmed to respond to various events detected at the RF interface.

The evolved ST25DV-I2C tags are available in SO-8, TSSOP-8, and chip-scale packages including 8-lead UFDFPN, 12-lead UFDFPN, and WLCSP-10. The ST25DV-I2C Series Dynamic Tags are now available for free sampling and purchase.