NFC Forum Technical Specifications
Protocol Technical Specification
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NFC Logical Link Control Protocol (LLCP) Technical Specification
Defines an OSI layer-2 protocol to support peer-to-peer communication between two NFC-enabled devices, which is essential for any NFC applications that involve bi-directional communications. The specification defines two service types, connectionless and connection-oriented, organized into three link service classes: connectionless service only; connection-oriented service only; and both connectionless and connection-oriented service. The connectionless service offers minimal setup with no reliability or flow-control guarantees (deferring these issues to applications and to the reliability guarantees offered by ISO/IEC 18092 and ISO/IEC 14443 MAC layers). The connection-oriented service adds in-order, reliable delivery, flow-control, and session-based service layer multiplexing.
LLCP is a compact protocol, based on the industry standard IEEE 802.2, designed to support either small applications with limited data transport requirements, such as minor file transfers, or network protocols, such as OBEX and TCP/IP, which in turn provide a more robust service environment for applications. The NFC LLCP thus delivers a solid foundation for peer-to-peer applications, enhancing the basic functionality offered by ISO/IEC 18092, but without impacting the interoperability of legacy NFC applications or chipsets.
NFC Digital Protocol Technical Specification
This specification addresses the digital protocol for NFC-enabled device communication, providing an implementation specification on top of the ISO/IEC 18092 and ISO/IEC 14443 standards. It harmonizes the integrated technologies, specifies implementation options and limits the interpretation of the standards; in essence, showing developers how to use NFC, ISO/IEC 14443 and JIS X6319-4 standards together to ensure global interoperability between different NFC devices, and between NFC devices and existing contactless infrastructure.
The specification defines the common feature set that can be used consistently and without further modification for major NFC applications in areas such as financial services and public transport. The specification covers the digital interface and the half-duplex transmission protocol of the NFC-enabled device in its four roles as Initiator, Target, Reader/Writer and Card Emulator. It includes bit level coding, bit rates, frame formats, protocols, and command sets, which are used by NFC-enabled devices to exchange data and bind to the LLCP protocol.
NFC Activity Technical Specification
The specification explains how the NFC Digital Protocol Specification can be used to set up the communication protocol with another NFC device or NFC Forum tag. It describes the building blocks, called Activities, for setting up the communication protocol. These Activities can be used as defined in this specification or can be modified to define other ways of setting up the communication protocol, covering the same or different use cases. Activities are combined in Profiles. Each Profile has specific Configuration Parameters and covers a particular use case. This document defines Profiles polling for an NFC device and establishment of Peer to Peer communication, polling for and reading NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) data from an NFC Forum tag, and polling for a NFC tag or NFC device in combination.
The combination of Activities and Profiles define a predictable behavior for an NFC Forum device. This does not limit NFC Forum devices from implementing other building blocks or defining other Profiles – for other use cases – on top of the existing ones.
NFC Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol (SNEP) specification
The Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol (SNEP) allows an application on an NFC-enabled device to exchange NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) messages with another NFC Forum device when operating in NFC Forum peer-to-peer mode. The protocol makes use of the Logical Link Control Protocol (LLCP) connection-oriented transport mode to provide a reliable data exchange.
NFC Analog Technical Specification
This specification addresses the analog characteristics of the RF interface of the NFC-Enabled Device. The purpose of the specification is to characterize and specify the externally observable signals for an NFC-Enabled Device without specifying the design of the antenna of an NFC-Enabled Device. This includes power requirements (determining operating volume), transmission requirements, receiver requirements, and signal forms (time/frequency/modulation characteristics).
This document is intended for use by manufacturers wanting to implement an NFC-Enabled Device. The scope of this document covers the analog interface of the NFC-Enabled Device in its four roles (Peer Mode Initiator, Peer Mode Target, Reader/Writer Mode and Card Emulation Mode) for all three technologies (NFC-A, NFC-B, and NFC-F) and for all the different bit rates (106kbps, 212kbps, and 424kbps).
NFC Controller Interface (NCI) Technical Specification
The NCI specification defines a standard interface within an NFC device between an NFC controller and the device's main application processor. The NCI makes it easier for device manufacturers to integrate chipsets from different chip manufacturers, and it defines a common level of functionality and interoperability among the components within an NFC-enabled device. With the availability of the NCI, manufacturers will have access to a standard interface they can use for whatever kind of NFC-enabled device they build – including mobile phones, PCs, tablets, printers, consumer electronics, and appliances. This will enable manufacturers to bring new NFC-enabled devices to market faster. The NCI provides users a logical interface that can be used with different physical transports, such as UART, SPI, and I2C.
Data Exchange Format Technical Specification
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NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) Technical Specification
Specifies a common data format for NFC Forum-compliant devices and NFC Forum-compliant tags.
NFC Forum Tag Type Technical Specifications
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The NFC Forum has mandated four tag types to be operable with NFC devices. This is the backbone of interoperability between different NFC tag providers and NFC device manufacturers to ensure a consistent user experience.
The operation specifications for the NFC Forum Type 1/2/3/4 Tags provide the technical information needed to implement the reader/writer and associated control functionality of the NFC device to interact with the tags. Type 1/2/3/4 Tags are all based on existing contactless products and are commercially available.
NFC Forum Type 1 Tag Operation Specification
Type 1 Tag is based on ISO/IEC 14443A. Tags are read and re-write capable; users can configure the tag to become read-only. Memory availability is 96 bytes and expandable to 2 kbyte.
NFC Forum Type 2 Tag Operation Specification
Type 2 Tag is based on ISO/IEC 14443A. Tags are read and re-write capable; users can configure the tag to become read-only. Memory availability is 48 bytes and expandable to 2 kbyte.
NFC Forum Type 3 Tag Operation Specification
Type 3 Tag is based on the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) X 6319-4, also known as FeliCa. Tags are pre-configured at manufacture to be either read and re-writable, or read-only. Memory availability is variable, theoretical memory limit is 1MByte per service.
NFC Forum Type 4 Tag Operation Specification 2.0 (November 2010)
Type 4 Tag is fully compatible with the ISO/IEC 14443 standard series. Tags are pre-configured at manufacture to be either read and re-writable, or read-only. The memory availability is variable, up to 32 KBytes per service; the communication interface is either Type A or Type B compliant.
Record Type Definition Technical Specifications
Technical specifications for Record Type Definitions (RTDs) and four specific RTDs: Text, URI, Smart Poster, and Generic Control.
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NFC Record Type Definition (RTD) Technical Specification
Specifies the format and rules for building standard record types used by NFC Forum application definitions and third parties that are based on the NDEF data format. The RTD specification provides a way to efficiently define record formats for new applications and gives users the opportunity to create their own applications based on NFC Forum specifications.
NFC Text RTD Technical Specification
Provides an efficient way to store text strings in multiple languages by using the RTD mechanism and NDEF format. An example of using this specification is included in the Smart Poster RTD.
NFC URI RTD Technical Specification
Provides an efficient way to store Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI) by using the RTD mechanism and NDEF format. An example of using this specification is included in the Smart Poster RTD.
NFC Smart Poster RTD Technical Specification
Defines an NFC Forum Well Known Type to put URLs, SMSs or phone numbers on an NFC tag, or to transport them between devices. The Smart Poster RTD builds on the RTD mechanism and NDEF format and uses the URI RTD and Text RTD as building blocks.
NFC Generic Control RTD Technical Specification
NFCForum-TS-GenericControl RTD_1.0 has been withdrawn with no replacement.
NFC Signature RTD Technical Specification
Specifies the format used when signing single or multiple NDEF records. Defines the required and optional signature RTD fields, and also provides a list of suitable signature algorithms and certificate types that can be used to create the signature. Does not define or mandate a specific PKI or certification system, or define a new algorithm for use with the Signature RTD. Specification of the certificate verification and revocation process is out of scope.
Reference Application Technical Specification
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NFC Forum Connection Handover Technical Specification
Defines the structure and sequence of interactions that enable two NFC-enabled devices to establish a connection using other wireless communication technologies. Connection Handover combines the simple, one-touch set-up of NFC with high-speed communication technologies, such as WiFi or Bluetooth. The specification enables developers to choose the carrier for the information to be exchanged. If matching wireless capabilities are revealed during the negotiation process between two NFC-enabled devices, the connection can switch to the selected carrier. With this specification, other communication standards bodies can define information required for the connection setup to be carried in NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) messages. The specification also covers static handover, in which the connection handover information is stored on a simple NFC Forum Tag that can be read by NFC-enabled devices. Static mode is used in applications in which the negotiation mechanism or on-demand carrier activation is not required.
NFC Forum Personal Health Device Communication Technical Specification
Addresses a need for an openly-defined standard for the exchange of personal health data between devices using Near Field Communication technology. The purpose of this specification is to provide an interoperable data transport for personal health devices conforming to the ISO/IEEE Std. 11073-20601 Optimized Exchange Protocol and NFC Forum specifications.