NFC-based sensing controllers with energy harvesting capabilities are critical to the development of passive smart devices that can operate with high precision, efficiency, and design convenience in a wide range of IoT applications. Implementing this energy harvesting function requires the use of energy harvesting circuits and battery management circuits. Energy harvesting circuits usually use some special components, such as energy harvesters, rectifiers, capacitors, etc. These components convert energy from the environment into electricity and store it in capacitors. The battery management circuit is responsible for managing the electric energy in the capacitor to ensure the normal operation of the controller.
With the NGC1081, Infineon Technologies AG expands its portfolio of NFC tag side controllers. The new IC is a single-chip solution that enables the IoT industry to develop low-cost, miniaturized smart edge computing/sensing devices that maximize benefits to end users and manufacturers. Such devices can be controlled and powered by a mobile phone, with potential applications ranging from medical patches and disposable field testers to data loggers, smart thermostats and sensor inlays.
The tag-side controller supports dual-supply functionality, allowing it to operate in a passive mode based on energy harvesting (no battery), or in battery-powered mode, from a 3 to 3.3 V external power supply. In passive mode, the entire sensing system, including the IC and its connected sey useful for applications that require galvanic isolation of the power supply for safety requirements.
The NFC tag side controller is based on a low-power ARM® Cortex®-M0 microcontroller and integrates several key components. These include an ISO14443 Type A compliant NFC front end and a motor control driver with an H-bridge circuit capable of driving up to 250 mA. The NGC1081 also features a sensing unit based on a 12-bit SAR ADC with four analog inputs and a 10-bit DAC with one analog output. The sensing unit also includes an I2V converter and an integrated temperature sensor, providing ±0.3°C accuracy over the temperature range of 0°C to 45°C, and between -20°C to 0°C and 45°C Offers ±0.4°C accuracy over the range °C to 85°C.
This highly integrated single-chip solution enables customers to realize smart sensing devices with miniaturized product designs and reduced system bill of materials costs. Additionally, the tangible IC architecture and carefully designed hardware/software partiti through BOM!
