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ST25 NFC Readers

What is an NFC reader?

ST25 NFC product family

NFC readers communicate with smart cards, NFC tags as well as with NFC-enabled devices—such as smartphones and consumer goods. With a simple tap, they write and read data using several operating modes: card emulation, read/write, and peer-to-peer. Active NFC readers have a typical read-range of up to 10 cm and can also charge small battery-powered devices. This variety of options enables a wide range of applications and use cases.

ST25 NFC Reader   

The ST25R NFC readers provide multiprotocol support for 13.56 MHz communications such as ISO 14443 Type A and B, ISO 15693, ISO 18092, FeliCa, and NFC Forum protocols. NFC reader ICs integrate an SPI interface to communicate with a host microcontroller.

As a main provider of Near-Field Communication technology, ST's complete NFC reader portfolio helps you design and develop the most effective and secure contactless solutions for all embedded applications (payment, automotive, healthcare, monitoring devices, etc.)

Applications

With their advanced features, ST25 Readers enable a wide range of opportunities. NFC Forum CR13 certified, the ST25 Readers ensure interoperability with mobile phones and all other sorts of NFC-enabled devices and cards.

The device can be used in consumer goods and industrial flow for power and data transfer to authenticate, improve safety and increase customer experience as well as to get valuable feedback on product usage.

For the best possible payment terminal experience while speeding up time-to-market, our ST25 NFC readers feature Active Wave Shaping (AWS) and Dynamic Power Output (DPO) making certification easier than before. Fully compliant with the latest EMVCo® requirements, they also integrate a Noise Suppression Receiver (NSR) to guarantee dependable connectivity in the event of noisy environments, especially when the NFC antenna is close to an LCD screen.

Low-power consumption enables access control for buildings and cars and allows a good user experience that is ensured by a large interaction volume and robustness of the solution.

New
ST25R3916B: High-performance NFC Universal Device & EMVCo Reader

Thanks to its outstanding performances and unique features, our new NFC universal device ST25R3916B is ideal for payment applications, such as EMVCo 3.1a terminals..

It is also a perfect fit for many consumer and industrial applications, including access control, gaming, IoT, pairing, brand protection, product configuration, authentication, and traceability.

nfc forum certified

Key features include:

  • 1.6W output power at 5V
  • Improved Active Wave Shaping (vs ST25R3916)
  • Automatic Antenna Tuning (AAT)
  • Noise Suppression Receiver
  • Dynamic Power Output (DPO) with higher granularity to control field strength (vs ST25R3916)
  • Inductive Wake-Up (IWU) for low-power card detection
  • Certified by NFC Forum CR13
  • EMVCo 3.1a software and hardware reference available

Product types

Ideal for EMVCo® certifications, ST25R3916B and ST25R3917B reader ICs provide a sophisticated solution for mobile (mPOS) and traditional contactless POS payment terminals.
Unique features ensure designers fast time-to-market and compliance with relevant NFC specifications, faster EMVCo® certification and reduced BOM.
The NFC Forum CR13 and AEC-Q100 certified ST25R3920B for CCC DK is a highly integrated NFC initiators / HF reader ICs for automotive applications. It offers low-power card detection and reliable performance even in metallic environments. Ideal for car access, car start or pairing, accessory detection, in-car payment, or NFC card protection for Qi wireless charging. Unique features ensure designers fast time-to-market and compliance with digital key requirements.
NFC Forum CR13 certified, ST25R3916B, ST25R3917B and ST25R3918 reader ICs support multiple consumer and industrial applications. These NFC reader ICs allow high power transfer, charging or powering small battery-operated devices. The low-power inductive card detection helps reduce the overall consumption. Coming with noise suppression receivers, the readers enable very robust solutions, even in noisy environments. Ideal for access control and battery-powered applications.

ST25R NFC reader portfolio

ST25 NFC Readers portfolio

Benefits

  • Improved communication range in noisy environments (e.g., antenna close to LCD screen) thanks to an enhanced noise suppression feature/algorithm
  • Faster EMVCo® certification thanks to the dynamic power output with active wave-shaping control on each power level
  • Outstanding detection range, with minimal power consumption to preserve battery power
  • Robust NFC solution, even in harsh environments (such as temperature drift or metal) thanks to automatic antenna tuning
  • Advanced protection and diagnostic features for NFC card protection in Qi chargers
  • Simplified debugging with multiple test outputs and a unique technology to differentiate cards from phones

Useful information

WHAT IS ACTIVE WAVE SHAPING (AWS) The improved active wave shape (AWS) function allows reducing over- and undershoots in a simple way to ease EMVCo analog certification.
WHAT IS AUTOMATIC ANTENNA TUNING (AAT) Automatic antenna tuning (AAT) helps maximize performance in harsh or varying environments and compensate lifetime drifts.
WHAT IS DYNAMIC POWER OUTPUT (DPO) The Dynamic Power Output (DPO) adjusts the output power automatically to stay within certification limits and optimizes efficiency and read range.
WHAT IS NOISE SUPPRESSION RECEIVER (NSR) The noise suppression receiver (NSR) allows robust communication in noisy environments—e.g., LCD displays close to POS antenna.
WHAT IS INDUCTIVE WAKE-UP (IWU) The inductive wake-up mode enables the NFC reader to enter a low power mode to conserve energy and go to full operation when a card or tag is detected.

Characteristics

  ST25R95 ST25R3918 ST25R3911B ST25R3912 ST25R3916B ST25R3917B ST25R3919B ST25R3920B
Description Entry-Level NFC reader Multipurpose NFC reader High-Performance NFC Forum reader Mid-Range NFC Forum reader High-performance NFC universal device & EMVCo® reader High-performance NFC & EMVCo® reader High-performance NFC & EMVCo® reader Automotive high performance NFC reader for CCC digital key and car center console
Reader/Writer/Card mode ISO14443A/B ISO15693 Felica CE ISO14443A/B ISO15693 CE, PP2P ISO14443A/B ISO15693 FeliCa, VHBR P2P ISO14443A/B ISO15693 FeliCa P2P ISO14443A/B ISO15693 FeliCa CE, P2P ISO14443A/B ISO15693 FeliCa ISO14443A/B ISO15693 ISO14443A/B ISO15693 FeliCa CE P2P
Advanced features IWU DPO, NSR, AWS, IWU AAT, DPO, CIWU DPO, IWU AAT, DPO, NSR, AWS, IWU DPO, NSR, AWS, IWU DPO, NSR, AWS, IWU AAT, DPO, NSR, AWS, IWU, HB (Heartbeat)
Hardware interface SPI 2Mbps I²C // SPI 10Mbps SPI 6Mbps SPI 6Mbps I²C // SPI 10Mbps I²C // SPI 10Mbps I²C // SPI 10Mbps I²C // SPI 10Mbps
Output power 0.23W 0.5W 1.4W 1.0W 1.6W 1.6W 1.6W 1.6W
Package 32-pin QFN 32-pin QFN 32-pin QFN / wafer 32-pin QFN / WF 32-pin QFN / WLCSP-30 32-pin QFN / WLCSP-36 32-pin QFN 32-pin QFN 32-pin QFN

eDesignSuite

eDesignSuite is a comprehensive set of easy-to-use design-aid utilities ready to help you streamline the system development process with a wide range of ST products.

Power Management Design Center

Thermal-electrical Simulators for Components

Signal Conditioning Design Tool

NFC/RFID Calculators

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Power Supply Design Tool

SMPS design, by topology, by type and by product
PFC design with analog and digitial control
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Solar Battery Charger

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Handles AC-DC and DC-DC design in common topologies
Displays interactive and annotated schematic
Provides current/voltage graphs, Bode plots, efficiency curves and power-loss data
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Digital Power Workbench

Provides a step-by-step optimized design of power section and control loop
Generates the STM32Cube embedded software package for custom applications and allows firmware project generation, compatible with multiple STM32 IDEs
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FB LLC
Vienna Rectifier
3-Level T-type Converter

Power Tree Designer

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AC Switches Simulator

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Get junction temperature and blocking voltage graphs
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Rectifier Diodes Simulator

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Estimate power losses
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STPOWER Studio

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Twister Sim

Help select the right ViPOWER Automotive power device
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Supports various PCB configurations

TVS Simulator

Specify system ratings and surge waveform
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Active Filters

Handles multi-stage-designs and common topologies
Returns circuit component values
Provides gain, phase and group delay graphs
Low Pass, High Pass and Band Pass

Comparators

Handles most common configurations
Returns circuit components values
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Returns circuit component values
Provides current error graphs

High side Current Sensing

Provides current error graphs.
Help to select the right High side current sensing and shunt devices.
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NFC Inductance

Input geometry and substrate properties
Get antenna impedance

UHF Link Budget

Enter forward and reverse link characteristics
The tool returns link budget estimate

NFC Tuning Circuit

Enter antenna parameter and matching target
Select the topology of the matching network
The tool returns component values for the desired design targets