Intermediate
30 min

Connect your devices for a seamless and efficient user experience using ST25R3916 and ATmega324P

NFC revolution: Making your digital world a touch away

NFC 4 Click with EasyAVR v7

Published Oct 18, 2023

Click board™

NFC 4 Click

Dev. board

EasyAVR v7

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

ATmega324P

Join the NFC revolution and see how it's making your digital world accessible with a touch, enabling a new era of convenience and connectivity

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

NFC 4 Click is based on the ST25R3916, a high-performance multi-purpose NFC transceiver supporting NFC initiator, NFC target, reader, and card emulation modes from STMicroelectronics. It features high RF output power to directly drive an antenna etched on the PCB, alongside its tuning circuit, at high efficiency. Besides being fully compliant with EMVCo 3.0, it also includes an advanced analog front end and a highly integrated data framing system for ISO 18092 passive and active initiator and target, NFC-A/B (ISO 14443A/B) reader including higher bit rates, NFC-F (FeliCa™) reader, NFC-V (ISO 15693) reader up to 53 kbps, and NFC-A / NFC-F card emulation. Due to this combination of high RF output power and low power modes, this Click board™ is ideally suited for infrastructure NFC applications. The ST25R3916 features a built-in A/D converter,

which input can be multiplexed from different sources for diagnostic functions and low-power card detection. The result of the A/D conversion is stored in a register that can be read through the selectable host interface. It also contains a low-power capacitive sensor to detect the presence of a card without switching on the reader field by measuring the amplitude or phase of the antenna signal. Also, an integrated low-power RC oscillator and a wake-up timer automatically wake up the ST25R3916 and check for the presence of a tag using one or more techniques of low-power detection of card presence (capacitive, phase, or amplitude). NFC 4 Click communicates with a microcontroller via an SPI interface or an I2C interface. The ST25R3916 acts as a peripheral device on both interfaces, relying on the microcontroller to initiate all communication. The

communication selection can be made by positioning SMD jumpers labeled COMM SEL to an appropriate position. Note that all the jumpers' positions must be on the same side, or the Click board™ may become unresponsive. This Click board™ also features an additional interrupt signal routed on the INT pin of the mikroBUS™ socket to notify the microcontroller of completed commands or external events (e.g., peer device field on). This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

NFC 4 Click top side image
NFC 4 Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

EasyAVR v7 is the seventh generation of AVR development boards specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of 16-bit AVR microcontrollers from Microchip and has a broad set of unique functions, such as a powerful onboard mikroProg programmer and In-Circuit debugger over USB. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements in one place, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others. With four different connectors for each port, EasyAVR v7 allows you to connect accessory boards, sensors, and custom electronics more

efficiently than ever. Each part of the EasyAVR v7 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An integrated mikroProg, a fast USB 2.0 programmer with mikroICD hardware In-Circuit Debugger, offers many valuable programming/debugging options and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides it also includes a clean and regulated power supply block for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including an external 12V power supply, 7-12V AC or 9-15V DC via DC connector/screw terminals, and a power source via the USB Type-B (USB-B)

connector. Communication options such as USB-UART and RS-232 are also included, alongside the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, three display options (7-segment, graphical, and character-based LCD), and several different DIP sockets which cover a wide range of 16-bit AVR MCUs. EasyAVR v7 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

EasyAVR v7 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

ATmega324P

Architecture

AVR

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
SPI Chip Select
PA5
CS
SPI Clock
PB7
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PB6
MISO
SPI Data IN
PB5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
Interrupt
PD2
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PC0
SCL
I2C Data
PC1
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

NFC 4 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyAVR v7 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyAVR v7 as your development board.

EasyAVR v7 front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
EasyAVR v7 Access DIP MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly
NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto DIP image step 7 hardware assembly
EasyPIC PRO v7a Display Selection Necto Step hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto PreFlash Image hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.

2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.

3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for NFC 4 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • nfc4_get_mifare_tag_uid - This function reads the UID of a mifare tag.

  • nfc4_write_register - This function writes a desired data to the selected register.

  • nfc4_read_register - This function reads a desired data from the selected register.

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief NFC4 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of NFC 4 Click board 
 * by reading MIFARE ISO/IEC 14443 type A tag UID.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and performs the Click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * If there's a tag detected, it reads its UID and displays it on the USB UART every 500ms.
 *
 * @note
 * For testing purposes we used MIKROE-1475 - an RFiD tag 13.56MHz compliant with ISO14443-A standard.
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "nfc4.h"

static nfc4_t nfc4;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;      /**< Logger config object. */
    nfc4_cfg_t nfc4_cfg;    /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.
    nfc4_cfg_setup( &nfc4_cfg );
    NFC4_MAP_MIKROBUS( nfc4_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag  = nfc4_init( &nfc4, &nfc4_cfg );
    if ( ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) || ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Application Init Error. " );
        log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );

        for ( ; ; );
    }

    NFC4_SET_DATA_SAMPLE_EDGE;
    
    if ( NFC4_ERROR == nfc4_default_cfg ( &nfc4 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default Config Error. " );
        log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );

        for ( ; ; );
    }

    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    uint8_t tag_uid[ 10 ] = { 0 };
    uint8_t uid_len = 0;
    
    if( NFC4_OK == nfc4_get_mifare_tag_uid( &nfc4, tag_uid, &uid_len ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Tag UID: " );
        for ( uint8_t cnt = 0; cnt < uid_len; cnt++ )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, "%.2X", ( uint16_t ) tag_uid[ cnt ] );
        }
        log_printf( &logger, "\r\n" );
        Delay_ms ( 500 );
    }
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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