Panthronics AG, a fabless semiconductor company specializing in high-performance wireless technology, has extended its portfolio of high-performance NFC reader ICs with two new products, giving OEMs new options to design NFC capability into IoT devices and embedded and mobile computing systems.
The new PTX105R reader for IoT and consumer electronics devices features a streamlined RF system which allows Panthronics to offer the PTX105R at a highly competitive unit cost. The PTX105R is compatible with NFC Forum specifications and offers accurate digital wave shaping to guarantee interoperability with all NFC-compliant cards, tags, and NFC devices in wearable form factors.
The PTX105R's produces RF output power of 1W at the antenna and ultra-high Receive sensitivity of -80 dBc, giving reliable connectivity in general electronics systems. The PTX105R's excellent RF performance enables the implementation of designs based on an antenna that is smaller than that required by competing NFC readers.
The new PTX130R reader is a new, upgraded version of the PTX100R, an ultra-high performance reader IC for point-of-sale terminals which was introduced in 2019. The PTX130R, which is the first Panthronics reader IC to feature native support for the Android operating environment, provides an ideal way to add NFC communications capability to embedded computing systems built around a touchscreen display. The PTX130R is suitable for point-of-sale and mobile point-of-sale terminals, and can also provide NFC connectivity in embedded computing devices: typical examples include scanners, automated service points such as self-check-in terminals at hotels, and secure access control and home and building automation equipment which has a display-enabled human-machine interface.
Like the original PTX100R, the PTX130R features very high RF output power of more than 2 W at the antenna, providing robust connectivity and enabling OEMs to achieve compliance with the strict requirements of the EMVCo standard for payment card transactions even when operating via an antenna that is placed close to or behind a noisy display.
The upgraded features in the PTX130R include 10% higher efficiency than the PTX100R offers.
Unique sine wave architecture
Benefiting from a unique sine wave silicon architecture designed from the ground up for NFC systems, the Panthronics PTX100R, PTX105R and PTX130R NFC readers offer higher sensitivity, more accurate wave-shaping, higher output power and a simpler hardware implementation than conventional NFC reader ICs based on a square wave architecture.
Developers of NFC-based end products such as point-of-sale terminals and mobile phones find the superior performance of the Panthronics sine wave architecture means that they can complete product development faster, with easier validation of conformance with standards such as EMVCo 3.1. Panthronics readers also typically offer a read range some 40% higher than that provided by conventional readers based on a square wave architecture.
Mark Dickson, Chief Marketing Officer of Panthronics, said: 'Since the launch of the PTX100R in 2019, Panthronics has established itself as the technology and performance leader in the NFC components market. The extension of our family of readers allows more OEMs to benefit from the superior sine wave architecture which we pioneered in the PTX100R, and which underpins the superior RF performance of the new PTX105R and PTX130R.
Choice of evaluation kit options
Evaluation kits for the PTX105R and PTX130R are available directly from Panthronics. They provide a ready-made operating environment including the antenna, to enable design engineers to evaluate NFC performance out of the box.
Panthronics also supplies an NFC connectivity board based on the PTX105R for the Renesas Quick-Connect IoT rapid system prototyping platform. The Panthronics NFC board provides a fast and easy way to build NFC connectivity into IoT systems based on the popular Renesas general-purpose microcontrollers which support the modular Quick-Connect IoT format. Featuring a Pmod connector, the Panthronics board can be easily linked to the Renesas Quick-Connect microcontroller evaluation kits.
The Quick-Connect IoT NFC board is available worldwide via the authorized distributor Seltech.
Samples of the PTX105R and PTX130R are available from any authorized distributor of Panthronics products.
Click here to learn more about Panthronics' NFC reader portfolio.
