SLOA248B January   2018  – March 2019 TRF7960A , TRF7962A , TRF7963A

 

  1.   Frequently asked questions for TRF7960A, TRF7962A, and TRF7963A devices
    1.     Trademarks
    2. 1 General Questions
      1. 1.1 What is the TRF79xxA?
      2. 1.2 What protocols are supported by the TRF7960A, TRF7970A, and variants?
      3. 1.3 What evaluation hardware and firmware should I get to evaluate the TRF79xxA devices?
      4. 1.4 What are the expected read ranges for NFC/RFID tags with TRF79xxA evaluation hardware?
    3. 2 NFC/RFID Operating Mode Questions
      1. 2.1 Reader/Writer Mode
        1. 2.1.1 What is the difference between an NFC tag and an HF RFID tag?
        2. 2.1.2 Why is NDEF used? What advantages does NDEF provide?
    4. 3 Hardware and Design Questions
      1. 3.1 Where can I get schematics and layout files for the TRF79xxA devices?
      2. 3.2 How do I design and tune an antenna to 13.56 MHz for the TRF79xxA devices?
      3. 3.3 Does TI provide FCC certification for the TRF79xxA devices?
      4. 3.4 What TI reference designs are available for the TRF79xxA devices?
    5. 4 Software Questions
      1. 4.1 What are the software differences between TRF7960A and TRF7970A?
      2. 4.2 I need to read a non-NFC compliant tag or transponder, what firmware example should I use?
      3. 4.3 Are there any firmware examples available for TI MCUs other than MSP430 and MSP432 MCUs?
      4. 4.4 Are authentication examples available for the TRF79xxA devices?
      5. 4.5 What are the recommended TRF79xxA register settings or device configuration?
      6. 4.6 What does an IRQ status of 0xC0 mean?
      7. 4.7 Are software examples available to read Topaz-512 (NFC Forum Type 1) tags?
      8. 4.8 Are software examples available to read iCLASS or PicoPass tags?
    6. 5 Miscellaneous Questions
      1. 5.1 Is there any support for RF power amplifiers?
      2. 5.2 Are there Energia or Arduino examples for the TRF79xxA?
      3. 5.3 What IDEs are supported for Texas Instruments TRF79xxA firmware examples?
      4. 5.4 What Android handset interoperability is supported?
      5. 5.5 How do I configure the TRF79xxA to output a continuous or unmodulated RF field?
    7. 6 References
  2.   Revision History

2.1.2 Why is NDEF used? What advantages does NDEF provide?

The concept of NDEF is to create a universal format for how to store data across all NFC tags. This allows NFC devices such as smartphones to have a standard for how to read data across each NFC technology type despite varying memory structures and features.

The advantage of using NDEF is that any NFC-compliant device is able to read and write to an NDEF formatted tag allowing for excellent interoperability with a large number of devices and tags in the market.

NDEF should be leveraged for applications in which any of the following is desired:

  • Compatibility with NFC-enabled devices in the market
  • Display of information (text, URL, contact information, and so on) in an easily readable format

NDEF may not be an ideal choice for some applications such as:

  • Proprietary closed-loop applications
  • Applications in which raw unformatted data should be transferred over NFC