Beginner
10 min

Add RFID reader/writer capabilities to your project with CR95HF and PIC18F57Q43

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) multi-protocol contactless transceiver

RFid Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Feb 13, 2024

Click board™

RFid Click

Dev Board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

Achieve communication with RFID tags and supports various applications such as tracking, security systems, and identification

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

RFid Click is based on the CR95HF, a multi-protocol contactless transceiver from STMicroelectronics. This board supports ISO/IEC 14443 type A and B, ISO/IEC 15693, and ISO/IEC 18092 communication protocols (tags). In addition, it also supports the detection, reading, and writing of NFC forum type 1, 2, 3, and 4 tags with incorporated internal antenna. The CR95HF integrates an Analog Front End to provide the 13.56MHz Air Interface. It manages frame coding and decoding in Reader mode for standard applications such as near-field communication (NFC), proximity, and vicinity standards. The CR95HF has two operating modes: Wait for Event

(WFE) and Active Mode of operation. In Active mode, the CR95HF communicates actively with a tag or an external host. The WFE mode includes four low-consumption states: Power-up, Hibernate, Sleep, and Tag Detector, allowing the transceiver to switch from one mode to another. All states except Power-Up are software-accessible. While the CR95HF is in any of these, communication with the MCU is impossible. For normal communication, the transceiver must be woken up first. RFid Click can communicate with the host MCU using UART or SPI serial interfaces over the mikroBUS™ socket. This Click board™ comes with A and B jumpers with which the function of two multiplex pins is

selected. Depending on their position, the pins can be used as UART or interrupt (input and output) pins (interrupt by default). These jumpers must be set to the B position for use with the UART interface, thus losing the interrupt function pins. The SSSI0 and SSI1 pins serve for communication interface selection based on their logic states. This Click board™ can only be operated with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

RFid Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano evaluation kit is a cutting-edge hardware platform designed to evaluate microcontrollers within the PIC18-Q43 family. Central to its design is the inclusion of the powerful PIC18F57Q43 microcontroller (MCU), offering advanced functionalities and robust performance. Key features of this evaluation kit include a yellow user LED and a responsive

mechanical user switch, providing seamless interaction and testing. The provision for a 32.768kHz crystal footprint ensures precision timing capabilities. With an onboard debugger boasting a green power and status LED, programming and debugging become intuitive and efficient. Further enhancing its utility is the Virtual serial port (CDC) and a debug GPIO channel (DGI

GPIO), offering extensive connectivity options. Powered via USB, this kit boasts an adjustable target voltage feature facilitated by the MIC5353 LDO regulator, ensuring stable operation with an output voltage ranging from 1.8V to 5.1V, with a maximum output current of 500mA, subject to ambient temperature and voltage constraints.

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

48

RAM (Bytes)

8196

You complete me!

Accessories

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is a versatile hardware extension platform created to streamline the integration between Curiosity Nano kits and extension boards, tailored explicitly for the mikroBUS™-standardized Click boards and Xplained Pro extension boards. This innovative base board (shield) offers seamless connectivity and expansion possibilities, simplifying experimentation and development. Key features include USB power compatibility from the Curiosity Nano kit, alongside an alternative external power input option for enhanced flexibility. The onboard Li-Ion/LiPo charger and management circuit ensure smooth operation for battery-powered applications, simplifying usage and management. Moreover, the base incorporates a fixed 3.3V PSU dedicated to target and mikroBUS™ power rails, alongside a fixed 5.0V boost converter catering to 5V power rails of mikroBUS™ sockets, providing stable power delivery for various connected devices.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards accessories 1 image

RFID tag operating at 13.56MHz adheres to the ISO14443-A standard, ensuring high-frequency communication. This proximity card technology, often exemplified by MIFARE cards, facilitates secure and contactless interactions in applications like access control, public transport, and payment systems. The ISO14443-A standard defines the communication protocol, incorporating anti-collision mechanisms for simultaneous card handling. These RFID tags possess variable memory capacities, ranging from a few bytes to kilobytes, catering to diverse application needs. Ensuring data security, the standard integrates features such as encryption and authentication. These tags, exemplified by MIFARE technology, are widely used for their efficiency and are vital in enhancing convenience and security in diverse identification and access scenarios.

RFid Click accessories image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Interface Selection
PA0
AN
Interface Selection
PA7
RST
SPI Chip Select
PD4
CS
SPI Clock
PC6
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PC5
MISO
SPI Data IN
PC4
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Interrupt Output
PB0
PWM
Interrupt Output
PA6
INT
UART TX
PC2
TX
UART RX
PC3
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

RFid Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43 as your development board.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click front image hardware assembly
PIC18F47Q10 Curiosity Nano front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Curiosity Nano with PICXXX Access 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 image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity MCU Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

After loading the code example, pressing the "DEBUG" button builds and programs it on the selected setup.

Application Output Step 1

After programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions available in the IDE appears. By clicking the green "PLAY "button, we start reading the results achieved with Click board™.

Application Output Step 3

Upon completion of programming, the Application Output tab is automatically opened, where the achieved result can be read. In case of an inability to perform the Debug function, check if a proper connection between the MCU used by the setup and the CODEGRIP programmer has been established. A detailed explanation of the CODEGRIP-board connection can be found in the CODEGRIP User Manual. Please find it in the RESOURCES section.

Application Output Step 4

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for RFID Click driver.

Key functions:

  • rfid_select_communication_interface - Select communication interface

  • rfid_get_tag_uid - Get RFID tag uid function

  • rfid_get_device_id - RFID get device id function

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief RFID Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of RFID 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, selects the communication interface and performs
 * the click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * If there's a tag detected, it reads its UID and displays it on USB UART.
 *
 * @note
 * It is recommended to tie SSI_0, SSI_1 to VCC/GND at power-up, depending on 
 * the communication interface selection by A and B on-board jumpers. 
 * SSI_0 - UART: 0 SPI: 1
 * SSI_1 - UART: 0 SPI: 0
 * 
 * Only tags with 4-byte or 7-byte UIDs are compatible with this example.
 * We recommend MIKROE-1475 - an RFiD tag 13.56MHz compliant with ISO14443-A standard.
 * 
 * 
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "rfid.h"

static rfid_t rfid;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    rfid_cfg_t rfid_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 " );
    Delay_ms( 100 );

    // Click initialization.

    rfid_cfg_setup( &rfid_cfg );
    RFID_MAP_MIKROBUS( rfid_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t error_flag = rfid_init( &rfid, &rfid_cfg );
    if ( error_flag != RFID_OK ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_printf( &logger, " Selecting communication interface... \r\n" );
    error_flag = rfid_select_communication_interface ( &rfid, RFID_SPI );
    if ( error_flag != RFID_OK ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_printf( &logger, " Configuring the device... \r\n" );
    error_flag = rfid_default_cfg ( &rfid );
    if ( error_flag != RFID_OK ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_printf( &logger, " The device has been configured! \r\n" );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    uint8_t tag_uid[ 20 ] = { 0 };
    uint8_t tag_len = rfid_get_tag_uid( &rfid, RFID_ISO_14443A, tag_uid );
    if ( tag_len > 0 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " TAG UID: " );
        for ( uint8_t cnt = 0; cnt < tag_len; cnt++ )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, "0x%.2X ", ( uint16_t ) tag_uid[ cnt ] );
        }
        log_printf( &logger, "\r\n----------------------------------\r\n" );
        Delay_ms( 1000 );
    }
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; ) {
        application_task( );
    }
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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