Texas Instruments TRF7970ARHBT

The TRF7970A device is an integrated analog front end (AFE) and multiprotocol data-framing device for a 13.56-MHz NFC/RFID system supporting all three NFC operation modes – reader/writer, peer-to-peer, and card emulation according to ISO/IEC 14443 A and B, Sony FeliCa, ISO/IEC 15693, NFCIP-1 (ISO/IEC 18092), and NFCIP-2 (ISO/IEC 21481). Built-in programming options make the device suitable for a wide range of applications for NFC, proximity, and vicinity identification systems.

The device is configured by selecting the desired protocol in the control registers. Direct access to all control registers allows fine tuning of various reader parameters as needed.

The TRF7970A device supports data rates up to 848 kbps with all framing and synchronization tasks for the ISO protocols onboard. The TRF7970A device also supports reader and writer mode for NFC Forum tag types 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Other standards and even custom protocols can be implemented by using one of the direct modes the device offers. These direct modes let the user fully control the AFE and also gain access to the raw subcarrier data or the unframed, but already ISO-formatted, data and the associated (extracted) clock signal.

The receiver system has a dual-input receiver architecture to maximize communication robustness. The receivers also include various automatic and manual gain control options. The received signal strength from transponders, ambient sources, or internal levels is available in the RSSI register.

A SPI or parallel interface can be used for the communication between the MCU and the TRF7970A device. When the built-in hardware encoders and decoders are used, transmit and receive functions use a 127-byte FIFO register. For direct transmit or receive functions, the encoders or decoders can be bypassed so the MCU can process the data in real time.

The TRF7970A device supports a wide supply voltage range of 2.7 V to 5.5 V and data communication levels from 1.8 V to 5.5 V for the MCU I/O interface.

The transmitter has selectable output power levels of 100 mW ( 20 dBm) or 200 mW ( 23 dBm) equivalent into a 50-Ω load when using a 5-V supply and supports OOK and ASK modulation with selectable modulation depth.

The built-in programmable auxiliary voltage regulator delivers up to 20 mA to supply an MCU and additional external circuits within the reader system.

Integrated RF field detector with programmable wake-up levels, eight selectable power modes, and ultra-low power operation enable easy development of robust and cost-efficient designs for long battery life.

Start evaluating the TRF7970A multiprotocol transceiver IC with the DLP-7970ABP.