NXP’s NTAG I2C plus extends the family of connected NFC tags to specifically address the smart home market

Designed to be the perfect enabler for NFC in home-automation and consumer applications, this feature-packed, next-generation connected NFC tag is the fastest, most BOM optimized way to add“tap-and-connect” communications to any electronic device.

NXP’s NTAG I²C plus is the latest development of NXP NFC tags that combines a passive NFC interface and a contact I²C interfaces together with a non-volatile memory. On top of the well-known zero power capabilities of this family, NTAG I²C plus offers new features like password protection, full memory access configuration from both interfaces and an originality signature for protection against cloning. NTAG I²C plus is also further enhancing end user experience by delivering four times higher data transfer performance. This second generation of NXP’s industry leading connected tag technology maintains full backward compatibility with first-generation NTAG I²C products and remains the ideal, most cost effective choice to integrate NFC capabilities into any embedded system.

Additional NTAG I²C plus features include:

• Pass-through mode with 64-byte SRAM buffer
• FAST READ and FAST WRITE commands for higher data throughput
• Full, read-only, or no memory access from I²C interface and NFC interface, based on 32-bit password protection
• NFC Forum Type 2 Tag and NFC interface ISO/IEC 14443A Part 2 and 3 compliant
• Input capacitance of 50 pF
• Unique 7-byte serial number
• GET VERSION command for easy identification of chip type and supported features
• I²C interface with standard (100 kHz) and fast (400 kHz) modes
• 888/1912 bytes of EEPROM-based user memory
• Originality signature based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) for simple, genuine authentication
• 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)
• Extended operating temperature range: 140 +105 °C

NTAG I²C plus Explorer Kit

The NTAG I²C plus integration is supported by an all-in-one demo kit (OM5569/NT322E, OM5569/NT322ER) that includes a ready-to-use demonstrator, comprehensive evaluation tools for all NTAG I²C plus functionalities that is further complemented by a very thorough set of tools such as an Android Library from the MIFARE SDK that allows customers to develop Android Apps in no time.

Specifically designed for smart home applications, the NTAG I²C family along with the PN7120 NFC controller are all integrated into the NXP latest smart home evaluation kit EVK004 together with the latest generation of ZigBee Controller JN5169.

Availability and pricing

Production-qualified samples of NTAG I²C plus ICs are available now from NXP and its distribution partners. Suggested resale pricing for XQFN8, TSSOP8 and SO8 packages start from $0.29 (USD) respectively in 500-, 2500 and 4000-unit quantities (in order of mentioned packages). NTAG I²C plus ICs in all packages with 888 bytes memory are also available to order with pricing from $0.25 (USD).