SLOA246B January   2018  – March 2019 TRF7964A , TRF7970A

 

  1.   Frequently asked questions for TRF7970A and TRF7964A 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?
      5. 1.5 The TRF7970AEVM is not available anymore, what is the replacement?
    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?
        3. 2.1.3 How do I read NFC/RFID tags with the TRF79xxA series of devices?
      2. 2.2 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Mode
        1. 2.2.1 What is NFC peer-to-peer mode?
        2. 2.2.2 How do I send peer-to-peer messages to NFC devices with the TRF79xxA series of devices?
        3. 2.2.3 What is the difference between passive and active P2P?
      3. 2.3 NFC Card Emulation Mode
        1. 2.3.1 What is NFC tag or card emulation?
        2. 2.3.2 How do I emulate an NFC tag or card with the TRF79xxA series of devices?
    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 I need to read a non-NFC compliant tag or transponder, what firmware example should I use?
      2. 4.2 Are there any firmware examples available for TI MCUs other than MSP430 and MSP432 MCUs?
      3. 4.3 Is there support for NFCLink with NCI?
      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 Is there any TI training collateral for NFC?
      3. 5.3 Are there Energia or Arduino examples for the TRF79xxA?
      4. 5.4 What IDEs are supported for Texas Instruments TRF79xxA firmware examples?
      5. 5.5 What Android handset interoperability is supported?
      6. 5.6 How do I configure the TRF79xxA to output a continuous or unmodulated RF field?
    7. 6 Comparison of TI NFCLink Standalone Firmware and TI RFID Reader Example Firmware
      1. 6.1 NFCLink Standalone Firmware
      2. 6.2 RFID Reader Example Firmware
      3. 6.3 Memory Footprint Comparison
    8. 7 References
  2.   Revision History

1.4 What are the expected read ranges for NFC/RFID tags with TRF79xxA evaluation hardware?

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.