1 General description

Designed to be the perfect enabler for NFC in home-automation and consumer applications, this featurepacked, second-generation connected NFC tag is the fastest, least expensive way to add tap-and-go connectivity to just about any electronic device.

NXPNTAG I2C plus is a family of connected NFC tags that combine a passive NFC interface with a contact I2C interface. As the second generation of NXP’s industry leading connected-tag technology, these devices maintain full backward compatibility with first-generation NTAG I2C products, while adding new, advanced features for password protection, full memory-access configuration from both interfaces, and an originality signature for protection against cloning.

The second-generation technology provides four times higher pass-through performance, along with energy harvesting capabilities, yet NTAG I2C plus devices are optimized for use in entry-level NFC applications and offer the lowest BoM of any NFC solution.

I2C and NFC communications are based on simple, standard command sets, and are augmented by the demo board OM5569/NT322E, which includes online reference source code. All that is required is a simple antenna design, with no or only limited extra components, and there are plenty of reference designs online for inspiration. NTAG I2C plus development board is certified as NFC Forum Type 2 Tag (Certification ID: 58514).

2 Features and benefits

2.1 Key features

• Interoperability

– ISO/IEC 14443 Part 2 and 3 compliant

– NTAG I2C plus development board is certified as NFC Forum Type 2 Tag (Certification ID: 58514)

– Unique 7 byte UID

– GET_VERSION command for easy identification of chip type and supported features

– Input capacitance of 50 pF

• Host interface

– I2C slave

– Configurable field detection pin based on open-drain implementation to signal NFC events or synchronize

pass-through data transfer

• Memory

– 2k bytes EEPROM

– 64 bytes SRAM buffer for transfer of data between NFC and I2C interfaces with memory mirror or passthrough

mode

– Clear arbitration between NFC and I2C memory access

• Data transfer

– Pass-through mode with 64 byte SRAM buffer

– FAST_WRITE and FAST_READ NFC commands for higher data throughput

• Security and memory-access management

– Full, read-only, or no memory access from NFC interface, based on 32-bit password

– Full, read-only, or no memory access from I2C interface

– NFC silence feature to disable the NFC interface

– Originality signature based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) for simple, genuine authentication

• Power Management

– Configurable field-detection output signal for data-transfer synchronization and device wake-up

– Energy harvesting from NFC field, so as to power external devices (e.g. connected microcontroller)

• Industrial requirements

– Temperature range from -40 °C up to 105 °C

2.2 NFC interface

• NFC Forum Type 2 Tag compliant

• Contactless transmission of data at 106 kbit/s

• NTAG I2C plus development board is certified as NFC Forum Type 2 Tag (Certification ID: 58514)

• ISO/IEC 14443A compliant

• Data transfer of 106 kbit/s

• 4 bytes (one page) written including all overhead in 4.8 ms via EEPROM or 0.8 ms via SRAM

• 64 bytes (whole SRAM) written including all overhead in 6.1 ms using FAST_WRITE command

• Data integrity of 16-bit CRC, parity, bit coding, bit counting

• Operating distance of up to 100 mm (depending on various parameters, such as field strength and antenna geometry)

• True anticollision

• Unique 7 byte serial number (UID) according to ISO/IEC 14443-3

2.3 Memory

• 2k bytes EEPROM

• 64 bytes SRAM volatile memory without write endurance limitation

• Data retention time of minimum 20 years

• EEPROM write endurance minimum 500.000 cycles

2.4 I2C interface

• I2C slave interface supports frequencies up to 400 kHz

• Fail-safe I2C operation

• I2C slave supports 7-bit slave address.

• As the least significant R/W bit is used to indicate data transfer direction, default slave address 55h

recalculates to an I2C write address AAh and an I2C read address ABh respectively.

• 16 bytes (one block) written in 4 ms (EEPROM) or 0.4 ms (SRAM)

• NTAG I2C plus can be used as standard I2C EEPROM and I2C SRAM

2.5 Security

• Manufacturer-programmed 7-byte UID for each device

• Capability container with one time programmable bits

• Field programmable read-only locking function per page for first 12 pages and per 16 (1k version) or 32 (2k

version) pages for the extended memory section

• ECC-based originality signature

• 32-bit password protection to prevent unauthorized memory operations from NFC perspective may be

enabled for parts of, or complete memory

• Access to password protected data area may be restricted from I2C perspective

• Pass-through and mirror mode operation may be password protected

• Protected data can be safeguarded against limited number of negative password authentication attempts

2.6 Key benefits

• Full interoperability with every NFC-enabled device

• Smooth end-user experience with super-fast data exchange (up to 40 kbit/s) via NFC and I2C interface

• Zero-power operation with non-volatile data storage

• Energy harvesting feature delivers up to 15 mW out of NFC field to power (parts of) host system

• Data protection to prevent unauthorized data manipulation

• Multi-application support, enabled by memory size and segmentation options

• Lowest bill of materials and smallest footprint for NFC wireless charging solution in embedded electronics

3 Applications

NXP NTAG I2C plus is a family of connected NFC tags that combine a passive NFC interface with a contact

I2C interface. As the second generation of NXP’s industry-leading connected-tag technology, these devices

maintain full backward compatibility with first-generation NTAG I2C products, while adding new, advanced

features for password protection, full memory-access configuration from both interfaces, and an originality

signature for protection against cloning.

The second-generation technology provides four times higher pass-through performance, along with energy

harvesting capabilities, yet NTAG I2C plus devices are optimized for use in NFC applications like:

• IoT nodes (home automation, smart home, etc.)

• Pairing and configuration of consumer applications

• NFC accessories (headsets, speakers, etc.)

• Wearable infotainment

• Fitness equipment

• Consumer electronics

• Healthcare

• Smart printers

• Meters

• Electronic shelf labels