The board is based on the ST25TA family that consists of a range of NFC Forum Type 4 tag chips that boast the industry’s widest range of integrated EEPROM memory size (512-Bit up to 64-kBit) along with the most robust memory performance, with data retention times of up to 200 years, the industry’s widest operating temperature range (-40 to +85°C), and an endurance of one million erase-write cycles.
These devices are suitable for WiFi and/or Bluetooth pairing, smart posters (e.g. storing URLs or triggering apps), Vcards containing contact details and ID photo, product identification, asset tracking, and a host of other consumer, industrial, and IoT applications.
Other key features of the ST25A family include RF performance that works effectively with ultra-small antennae, using a 50pF internal RF tunable capacitance, and general-purpose output, asserted every time an event occurs in the RF field. This output can be used as a wake-up signal for WiFi and Bluetooth, and it does not require any external components.
Optional password protection guarantees data security in the tag, and a 20-bit event counter allows analytics to track the level of interest in the information contained in the tag.
The UFDFPN5 (1.7×1.4mm) package, makes the devices suitable for wearables and other IoT applications where board space is at a premium. An easy-access development platform with full native NFC support, the ST25TA-CLOUD evaluation board is available now at a price of US$5.