The state-of-the-art analog circuitry of the newly announced reference design delivers superior NFC performance even when the space for the small antenna mounted on the device is mostly adjacent to metal surfaces or obscured by user hands, making RF transmission difficult. By integrating ams’s BoostedNFC™ technology with ST’s ST21NFCC controller and ST33G1M2 Secure MCU, the two companies ensure an experience that enables easy, fast, and completely secure contactless transactions for consumers when making payments in stores or ticketing and access control in public transportation infrastructure. OEM companies will also benefit from global payment certifications that are already proven in the market, including Common Criteria, EMVCo, GlobalPlatform, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and PBOC1 (People's Bank of China).

Laurent Degauque, Senior Vice President of Embedded Security Marketing at ST, said, “Through our partnership with ams, a leader in NFC technology, ST customers can implement integrated NFC turnkey solutions by benefiting from improved RF performance as well as reduced costs for integration and ownership. The joint reference design can be easily integrated into a variety of devices, including mobile phones, smartwatches, wearables, and secure access devices, and will enrich the consumer experience through contactless transactions.”

Compared to traditional passive load modulation (PLM) techniques that transmit antenna signals from NFC tags, cards, or card emulators to NFC readers, ams’s new AS39230 increases signal strength by up to 10 times. In space-constrained designs, the antenna size can be reduced by a factor of 20, bringing it down to 100 mm² or less, while maintaining the same signal strength. The AS39230 allows the device's metal case to be used as an antenna, reducing the board space required for the NFC antenna and eliminating associated costs.

ST’s ST54E System-in-Package (SIP) used with the ams Boost NFC chip includes the ST21NFCC controller, the ST33G1M2 32-bit secure microcontroller for the Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC), an embedded secure chip (Secure Element), and a microSD card application.

The ST33G1M2 security chip supports the latest global platform GP2.2 OS and the integrated MIFARE® portfolio, including MIFARE Classic and MIFARE DESFire®, and is fully compatible with major public transportation systems worldwide while providing market-proven best-in-class performance suitable for banking and digital access applications. Based on the ARM® SecurCore® SC300™ 32-bit RISC core, the ST33G1M2 provides a high-capacity, highly flexible embedded eFLASH along with security features certified to international common standards. This enables OEMs and service providers to plan for future technology implementations with compatibility that allows them to utilize proven Trusted Service Management (TSM) infrastructure.

AS39230 and ST54E support all important NFC standards that govern card emulation, including ISO14443 type A/B with a data rate of up to 424kb/s, FeliCa, an active P2P (peer-to-peer) bit rate of 212kb/s, and ISO18092 communication rate of up to 424kb/s.

“From a consumer perspective, if this technology always works flawlessly and they don’t have to worry about how to present their devices to the reader, they will continue to use smartphones or smartwatches for mobile payments and contactless ticketing. Because the AS39230 integrates the world’s highest-performing ActiveBoost technology with ST’s enhanced NFC System-in-Package technology, OEMs will not wait for the right opportunity to utilize their devices’ card emulation capabilities,” said Mark Dickson, Marketing Director for Wireless Connectivity and Power at ams.

The AS39230 NFC analog front end is currently available in production quantities from ams, and the ST54E is available as a sample from ST. Pricing, reference designs, datasheets, and evaluation boards are available upon request from suppliers.

ams and ST are scheduled to demonstrate a new reference design at the Mobile World Congress (Barcelona, March 2-5). ams' booth is Hall 6, Stand 6E20, and ST's booth is Hall 7, Stand 7B146.

For detailed information on AS39230, refer to http://www.ams.com/NFC-HF-Booster/AS39230. For detailed information on ST21NFCC and ST33G1M2, refer to http://www.st.com/st-web-ui/active/en/catalog/mmc/FM143.