NFC controller in next generation PoS products

The decision by BBPOS to base new terminal designs on the PTX100R is the result of exhaustive evaluation of competing NFC controller products. By choosing to use the PTX100R, BBPOS gains new freedom to implement product innovations with confidence that their NFC operation will comply with the latest standards for performance and interoperability.

Stuart Taylor, Chief Product Officer of BBPOS, said: "BBPOS’ success in the PoS terminal market owes much to its development of advanced design and technology. Now our next generation of terminal products will take advantage of the PTX100R NFC controller’s industry-best performance to produce an outstanding contactless payment experience in new and innovative form factors that BBPOS is creating." PTX100R supports rapid product innovation

Implementing a unique sine wave hardware transceiver architecture, the PTX100R introduced in 2019 offers a winning combination of superior Transmit power and sensitivity, accuratewave shaping, and a reduced bill-of-materials compared to conventional square-wave NFC controllers – products which have changed little over the past decade.

BBPOS is making use of the technical superiority of the PTX100R to develop innovative terminal product designs while reducing the duration of its product development cycles. In particular, the controller’s superior RF performance and ultra-precise wave shaping make it easier to design for compliance with the strict contactless interface specifications of the latest EMVCo 3.0 global standard for payment terminals. The PTX100R also supports innovative PoS terminal form factors with a large touchscreen, as the controller can support reliable NFC coupling via an antenna mounted behind a noisy display screen.

The sine wave architecture of the PTX100R also eliminates the need for the many filtering components required by competing NFC controllers. The new BBPOS terminals will benefit from a reduced component count, and this provides for much more uniform operation of the RF circuit across a population of production units, supporting easier compliance with both EMVCo 3.0 and NFC Forum specifications.

BBPOS’ implementation of new product designs based on the PTX100R also benefits from the development expertise and know-how of Panthronics’ applications engineering service. Combining 24/7 global technical support with a comprehensive knowledge base, online developer portal, and feature-rich development kits backed by application software, the Panthronics service helps accelerate customers’ development cycles and speed up the resolution of problems in system integration.

Mark Dickson, Chief Marketing Officer at Panthronics, said: "Panthronics is excited to be selected by BBPOS for its next-generation, leading-edge POS and mPOS terminals. BBPOS is a major innovator in this space, and its commitment to performance and quality is a perfect fit for the PTX100R." Volume shipments to BBPOS are set to start by the end of June 2021.

Filter-less DiRAC technology

The PTX100R sets a new, high standard for the performance of NFC reader ICs thanks to an innovative RF architecture developed by Panthronics. Implementing unique DiRAC direct-to-antenna technology, the PTX100R dispenses with the EMC filter and other lossy, large-tolerance components used by the conventional NFC readers in today’s PoS terminals.

Instead, the Transmit and Receive circuits in the PTX100R are connected directly to the antenna, producing exceptional RF performance features, including:

• The industry’s best sensitivity of -80dB, more than twice as sensitive as conventional readers.
• The industry’s highest power output of >2W at the antenna.
• Finer control of the shape of the modulated output signal.

This superior RF performance supports operation through an antenna typically four to five times smaller than that required by conventional NFC readers. The reduced requirement for external components produces space savings and lower bill-of-materials costs.