- Industry's first programmable 13.56MHz sensor transponder compliant with ISO 15693 standard

- Ultra-low-power microcontroller and nonvolatile FRAM integrated

TI Korea (CEO Kent Chon, www.ti.com/ww/kr) December 11, 2014 – TI (CEO Kent Chon) announced the launch of the industry's first highly flexible 13.56MHz sensor transponder product family. The highly integrated ultra-low-power RF430FRL15xH system-on-chip (SoC) product family integrates a programmable microcontroller (MCU), nonvolatile FRAM, analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and SPI or I2C interface with an ISO 15693 compliant NFC (Near Field Communication) interface. This dual-interface RF430FRL15xH NFC sensor transponder device can be operated in fully passive (unpowered) or semi-active mode to maximize battery life, making it suitable for consumer wearables, industrial, medical, and asset tracking applications.

Nonvolatile FRAM combines the speed, flexibility, and endurance of SRAM with the stability and reliability of flash memory, while enabling the industry's lowest power consumption and unlimited write cycles. By integrating FRAM, developers can design products that rapidly store sensor data and conveniently configure the transponder and sensors according to the application's requirements.

NFC sensor utilization in medical, industrial, and asset (logistics) tracking applications

By using the RF430FRL15xH, developers can design products requiring analog or digital interfaces, data logging functionality, and data transmission to NFC readers. The RF430FRL15xH transponder functions as a sensor node in these applications and provides IoT solutions when NFC devices transmit data to the cloud.

· In medical, health, and fitness applications, the RF430FRL15xH can be used in disposable patches to detect body temperature, moisture content, and other parameters. This enables monitoring of patient biometric data and secure sharing with healthcare providers. Additionally, the device can monitor data and record it in internal memory (FRAM) for transmission to NFC tablets or smartphones.

· In the industrial market, the RF430FRL15xH enables the design of maintenance-free sealed galvanic isolated sensor systems. These sensors are powered by RF fields and can communicate wirelessly through NFC to collect and record data.

· In logistics applications such as food tracking, constant temperature must be maintained, and the RF430FRL15xH transponder can monitor and record this temperature. This enables the design of highly integrated, compact, and user-friendly data logging product families using multiple sensors that can be connected to NFC devices and readers throughout the distribution channel.

Key features and benefits of the RF430FRL15xH NFC sensor transponder

· Wireless communication is possible through RFID interfaces compliant with ISO/IEC 15693 and ISO/IEC 18000-3 standards.

· Suitable for designs powered by 1.5V single-cell batteries or for unpowered designs that harvest energy from RF fields generated by NFC readers within the same reading range. Includes a battery switch for intelligent power management to extend battery life.

· Integrates a 14-bit ultra-low-input-current, low-noise, ultra-low-offset sigma-delta ADC, enabling up to 3 additional external sensors to be connected to the internally integrated temperature sensor.

· Provides SPI or I2C interface to support digital sensors and connect the device to a host system.

· Embeds application code in ROM to manage RF communication and sensor reading, enabling maximum flexibility when configuring the device. Developers can configure sampling rate, measurement thresholds, and alerts.

· Provides general-purpose nonvolatile memory (FRAM) to store data as well as extend or modify application code.

· Integrates a 16-bit ultra-low-power programmable MSP430™ CPU core and supports a robust development tool ecosystem.

· Fully supported by TI's Code Composer Studio™ (CCS) and IAR's Embedded Workbench® integrated development environment (IDE).

RF430FRL15xH sensor transponder evaluation module

Using the new RF430FRL152HEVM evaluation module (EVM) and upcoming training webinars, the new NFC sensor transponder product family can be conveniently evaluated. This evaluation board can be powered by battery, USB, or RF energy harvesting from nearby NFC readers or smartphones. Additionally, the evaluation board can be extended using multiple BoosterPacks from TI's low-cost LaunchPad prototyping ecosystem providers, including a sensor hub BoosterPack for connecting additional sensors. The RF430FRL152HEVM kit is available for purchase on the TI Store for $19.90.

Pricing and availability

The RF430FRL152H NFC sensor transponder is available for purchase in small quantities on the TI Store or through authorized distributors at $2.50 per unit (1,000-unit basis). Additional devices include the RF430FRL153H (without SPI/I2C) and RF430FRL154H (without sigma-delta ADC).