Five types of NFC electronic tags and common NFC chip models

NFC, also known as Near Field Communication, is a short-range, high-frequency wireless communication technology that allows contactless point-to-point data transmission (within 10cm) between electronic devices to exchange data. “With a single touch”, data can be exchanged between different electronic products. Unlike contactless IC cards, NFC enables two-way communication. As long as it is an NFC-enabled product and an IC card, data can be read or written. It is also possible to communicate between portable devices such as mobile phones. This technology evolved from contactless radio frequency identification (RFID) and is backward compatible with RFID, and was first introduced by Philips, Nokia and Sony, and is mainly used in handheld devices such as mobile phones. Due to the natural security of NFC, NFC technology is considered to have great application prospects in mobile payment and other fields. NFC combines contactless readers, contactless cards, and Peer-to-Peer capabilities into a single chip, opening up countless new opportunities for consumers’ lifestyles. It’s an open interface platform that enables fast, proactive setup of wireless networks and is also a virtual connector that serves existing cellular, Bluetooth^TM, and wireless devices.

NFC-enabled mobile phones can be used directly for electronic purchases, downloading coupons and e-tickets, and as a membership card in shops and tourist attractions. NFC users can enjoy the convenience of wireless payment with just a simple swipe of their NFC phone. In the future, NFC will play a huge role in business cards, advertising promotions, access control, public transportation, mobile payment and other fields.

There are five basic types of NFC tags, identified by Type 1 to Type 5, each with different formats and capacities. The formats of these tag types are based on ISO 14443 Type A and B, which is the international standard for contactless smart cards, and Sony Felica, which complies with the ISO 18092 standard for passive communication modes. The advantage of keeping NFC tags as simple as possible is that in many occasions, the tags can be single-use, such as those with a short lifespan in posters.

Type 1: This type is based on the ISO 14443A standard. These tag s are readable, rewriteable, and can be configured to be read-only. 96 bytes of storage space, which can be used to store URLs or other small amounts of data. However, the storage space can be expanded to 2K bytes. The communication speed of this type of NFC tag is 106K bit/s.
Typical Chip types: Topaz 512 (BCM20203)

Type 2: These type are based on the ISO 14443A standard and have readable, rewrite-capable and user-configurable read-only. Its base memory size is 48 bytes. But it can be scaled up to 2K bytes. The communication speed is also 106K bit/s.
Typical chip types: Mifare^TM Ultralight^TM / Ultralight^TM C, NTAG^TM203/210/213/215/216

Type 3: These tags are based on the Sony Feica protocol. It currently has 2K bytes of storage space and a data communication speed of 212K bit/s.
Typical chip types: Sony Feica series

Type 4: This type is defined to be compatible with the ISO 14443A/B standard. Manufactured pre-configured to read/write rewrite, or read-only. The memory capacity can reach 32K bytes, and the communication speed is between 106K bit/s and 424K bit/s
Typical chip types: DESFire^TM series, SmartMX-JCOP^TM

Type 5: This type of tag is the latest type of NFC tag that has been defined in recent years, and the corresponding RFID protocol is the ISO15693 series RFID chip, and the underlying physical layer is different from all other NFC tag types, because it is based on RFID technology (ISO-15693) instead of ISO-14443A, thus allowing a maximum reading distance of 1.5m. NFC Forum introduced this series of chips to meet the growing variety of long-range, miniaturized NFC tags and their applications.
Typical chip types: ST25TV16K, ST25TV64K

                                           (Source: Shehzhen Seabreeze Smart Card Co.,Ltd.)