Near Field Communication

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3. NearFieldCommunication(NFC)isashort-rangewirelessconnectivitytechnology
(alsoknownasISO18092)thatprovidesintuitive,simple,andsafecommunication
betweenelectronicdevices.CommunicationoccurswhentwoNFC-compatibledevices
arebroughtwithinfourcentimetersofoneanother.NFCoperatesat13.56MHzand
transfersdataatupto424Kbits/second.Becausethetransmissionrangeissoshort,
NFC-enabledtransactionsareinherentlysecure.
NFC is distinguished by its intuitive interface and its ability to enable largely
proprietarywirelessnetworkingplatformstointeroperateinaseamlessmanner.
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ThetechnologythatNFCisbasedon–RadioFrequencyIdentificationRFID–isnothingnew.
However, it is only recently that the technology and standards have reached a point where a
whole host of real-world applications are now not only technically feasible but also
commercially viable. Now the opportunity is here to develop and roll out profitable
applications for NFC that enhance users’ everyday lives, based on technology that is cost-
effectiveenoughforthemassmarketandthatmeetsinternationally-agreedstandards.
What is it about NFC that will open up these new applications and what are the latest
industrydevelopmentsthataremakingthispossible?

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NFCisashort-range,standards-basedwirelessconnectivitytechnology,basedonRFID
technologythatusesmagneticfieldinductiontoenablecommunicationbetweenelectronic
devicesincloseproximity.Itprovidesaseamlessmediumfortheidentificationprotocolsthat
validatesecuredatatransfer.Thisenablesuserstoperformintuitive,safe,contactless
transactions,accessdigitalcontentandconnectelectronicdevicessimplybytouchingorbringing
devicesintocloseproximity.
NFCoperatesinthestandardunlicensed13.56MHzfrequencybandoveradistanceofupto
around20centimeters.Currentlyitoffersdatatransferratesof106kbit/s,212kbit/sand
424kbit/s,andhigherratesareexpectedinthefuture.
FortwodevicestocommunicateusingNFC,onedevicemusthaveanNFCreader/writerandone
musthaveanNFCtag.Thetagisessentiallyanintegratedcircuitcontainingdata,connectedto
anantenna,thatcanbereadandwrittenbythereader.

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TherearetwomodesofoperationcoveredbytheNFCprotocol:
ACTIVEANDPASSIVE.
Inactivemode,bothdevicesgeneratetheirownradiofieldtotransmitdata.Inpassivemode,
onlyonedevicegeneratesaradiofield,whiletheotherusesloadmodulationtotransferdata.
TheNFCprotocolspecifiedthattheinitiatingdeviceisresponsibleforgeneratingtheradiofield
inthiscase.
Thepassivemodeofcommunicationisveryimportantforbattery-powereddeviceslikemobile
phones thatneedtoprioritizeenergyuse.TheNFCprotocolenablessuchdevicestobeusedin
power-savingmode,sothatenergycanbeconservedforotheroperations.

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TherealbeautyofNFCliesinitsroleasanenablingtechnologythatopensupvariousforms
ofcommunicationandtransactioninaverycomfortable,user-friendlyway.Inthesameway
thatpeopleuseastraightforwardswitchtolightaroom,orturnahandletoopenadoor,
NFCallowspeopletousethesimpleactoftouchingorplacingtheirdevicecloseto
somethingtoinitiatethedesiredservice.Thismakesusinganyformofelectronic‘service’
andotherinteractionsmoreaccessibletomorepeople,whatevertheirageorability.
Insimpleterms,NFCdoesthisbyperforminga‘handshake’betweentwodevicesthatare
broughtclosetogether(typicallywithinafewcentimeters).Whiletheinitiationofthis
handshakeisalwaysunderusercontrol,NFCremovestheneedfortheusertoperform
complexmanualconfigurations.Oncetheconnectionisestablished–withinmilliseconds–
informationcanbeexchangedbetweenthetwodevicesusingeitherNFCdirectlyorvia
anotherwirelesstechnologylikeWi-Fi,Bluetooth

8. Theprotocolisbasedonawirelessinterface.Therearealwaystwopartiestothecommunication;
hence the protocol is also known as peer-to-peer communication protocol. The protocol
establisheswirelessnetworkconnectionsbetweennetworkappliancesandconsumerelectronics
devices.
The interfaces operate in the unregulated RF band of 13.56 MHz This means that no restrictions
areappliedandnolicensesarerequiredfortheuseofNFCdevicesinthisRFband.
As is often the case with the devices sharing a single RF band, the communication is half-duplex.
The devicesimplementthe“listen beforetalk”policy– anydevicemust firstlistenonthe carrier
andstarttransmittingasignalonlyifnootherdevicecanbedetectedtransmitting.
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9. NFCprotocoldistinguishesbetweentheInitiatorandtheTargetofthecommunication.Any
devicemaybeeitheranInitiatororaTarget.TheInitiator,asfollowsfromthename,isthedevice
thatinitiatesandcontrolstheexchangeofdata.TheTargetisthedevicethatanswersthe
requestfromtheInitiator.
NFCprotocolalsodistinguishesbetweentwomodesofoperation:ActivemodeandPassive
mode.Alldevicessupportbothcommunicationmodes.Thedistinctionisasfollows:
IntheActivemodeofcommunicationbothdevicesgeneratetheirownRFfieldtocarrythedata.
InthePassivemodeofcommunicationonlyonedevicegeneratestheRFfieldwhiletheother
deviceusesloadmodulationtotransferthedata.TheprotocolspecifiesthattheInitiatoristhe
deviceresponsibletogeneratetheRFfield.
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10. NFCantennasarenotreallyantennas,Youmayrecallfromyourelectriccircuitsclassesthat
inductorscanbemadetocoupletogether-thatis,thereexistsmutualcoupling.Ifthe
magneticfieldsfromoneinductorpassnearanotherinductor,aninducedcurrentwillexist
withinthesecondinductor.Thisiscontactlessenergytransfer-exactlywhatNFCrequires.
Hence,NFCantennasareoftensimplyloopsofwire,occupyingasmuchsurfaceareaasthe
deviceallows.
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11. NFCreaderexcitescurrentat13.56MHzthroughthereaderNFCantenna(whichisreallyan
inductor).Thisinducesamagneticfield,whichfurther(viamutualcoupling)inducesan
electriccurrentinthesmartphone'sNFCantennawhentheyarecloselyplaced.Thisinduced
electriccurrentcanberead,andwehavecommunication.Thisisexactlywhatishappening
whenitcomestoNFCcommunicationinpractice,withthefocusontheantennas.
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12. •connectelectronicdevices,
suchaswirelesscomponentsinahomeofficesystemoraheadsetwitha
mobilephone
•accessdigitalcontent,
usingawirelessdevicesuchasacellphonetoreada“smart”poster
embeddedwithan RFtag
•makecontactlesstransactions,
includingthoseforpayment,accessandticketing
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13. If you have a PC and a mobile phone equipped with NFC, you can easily
download a new game from a website directly onto this mobile phone using
NFC:
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15. And this same principle will work for any sort of data transfer between two pieces of
equipment when they support NFC. There is no need to set up communication manually
provided that the applications are capable of handling the communication. This opens
countless possibilities for content transfer and management of personal data stored within
differenttypesofconsumerelectronicsequipment.
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16. Early uses of the technology are expected to be with NFC-enabled mobile phones,
which can easily be configured to become the only thing anyone needs to carry.
Everyonewillbeableto:
 make payments with a wave or a touch anywhere contactless card readers have been
deployed
 read information and “pick up” special offers and discounts from smart posters or smart
billboards
 storeticketstoaccesstransportationgates,parkinggaragesorgetintoevents
 storepersonalinformationthatwillallowsecurebuildingaccess
 takeapictureandtransferittoanNFC-enabledprinterormonitor
 sharebusinesscardswithotherNFC-enabledphonesandperformmanymorefunctions
However, NFC has many other applications that could simplify interaction with a variety of
consumer electronic devices, such as cameras, TV’s, PC components, etc. The uses of NFC are
endless,andmanyexcitingideasareindevelopmentnow.
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