Intermediate
20 min

Read data from NFC tags or write data to them with ST25R95 and ATmega324PA

NFC transceiver for contactless communication

NFC 6 Click with EasyAVR v8

Published Jul 11, 2024

Click board™

NFC 6 Click

Dev. board

EasyAVR v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

ATmega324PA

Achieve convenient and secure communication between devices using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

NFC 6 Click is based on the ST25R95, a near-field communication transceiver from STMicroelectronics. It manages frame coding and decoding in Reader and card emulation modes for standard applications such as near-field communication (NFC), proximity, and vicinity standards. The NFC transceiver supports ISO/IEC 14443 Type A communication in reader and card emulation modes and ISO/IEC 14443 Type B, ISO/IEC15693, and FeliCa in reader mode. The ST25R95 embeds an analog front end to provide the 13.56 MHz air interface and supports the detection, reading, and writing of NFC Forum Type

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 tags. There are two operating modes that ST25R95 supports: wait for event (WFE) and active mode. In active mode, the transceiver communicates actively with a tag or an external host, while the WFE mode includes four low-consumption states: power-up, hibernate, sleep/field detector, and tag detector. NFC 6 Click uses a standard 4-wire SPI serial interface to communicate with the host MCU, supporting clock frequencies of up to 2MHz. There are two interrupt pins: interrupt input (II) and interrupt output (IO). The interrupt input allows you to control WFE events. When it is ready, the NFC transceiver

returns a replay over the interrupt output by setting it to a Low logic level. It will remain Low until the host MCU reads the data. The application can use the Interrupt mode to skip the polling stage. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the V SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. Also, this Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

NFC 6 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

EasyAVR v8 is a development board designed to rapidly develop embedded applications based on 8-bit AVR microcontrollers (MCUs). Redesigned from the ground up, EasyAVR v8 offers a familiar set of standard features, as well as some new and unique features standard for the 8th generation of development boards: programming and debugging over the WiFi network, connectivity provided by USB-C connectors, support for a wide range of different MCUs, and more. The development board is designed so that the developer has everything that might be needed for the application development, following the Swiss Army knife concept: a highly advanced programmer/debugger module, a reliable power supply module, and a USB-UART connectivity option. EasyAVR v8 board offers several different DIP sockets, covering a wide range of 8-bit AVR MCUs, from the smallest

AVR MCU devices with only eight pins, all the way up to 40-pin "giants". The development board supports the well-established mikroBUS™ connectivity standard, offering five mikroBUS™ sockets, allowing access to a huge base of Click boards™. EasyAVR v8 offers two display options, allowing even the basic 8-bit AVR MCU devices to utilize them and display graphical or textual content. One of them is the 1x20 graphical display connector, compatible with the familiar Graphical Liquid Crystal Display (GLCD) based on the KS108 (or compatible) display driver, and EasyTFT board that contains TFT Color Display MI0283QT-9A, which is driven by ILI9341 display controller, capable of showing advanced graphical content. The other option is the 2x16 character LCD module, a four-bit display module with an embedded character-based display controller. It

requires minimal processing power from the host MCU for its operation. There is a wide range of useful interactive options at the disposal: high-quality buttons with selectable press levels, LEDs, pull-up/pulldown DIP switches, and more. All these features are packed on a single development board, which uses innovative manufacturing technologies, delivering a fluid and immersive working experience. The EasyAVR v8 development board is also integral to the MIKROE rapid development ecosystem. Natively supported by the MIKROE Software toolchain, backed up by hundreds of different Click board™ designs with their number growing daily, it covers many different prototyping and development aspects, thus saving precious development time.

EasyAVR v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

ATmega324PA

Architecture

AVR

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

2048

You complete me!

Accessories

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.

NFC 6 Click accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
ID SEL
PA4
RST
SPI Select / ID COMM
PB4
CS
SPI Clock
PB7
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PB6
MISO
SPI Data IN
PB5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Interrupt Input
PD4
PWM
Interrupt Output
PD2
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

NFC 6 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyAVR v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyAVR v8 as your development board.

EasyAVR v8 front image hardware assembly
Stepper 24 Click front image hardware assembly
Stepper 24 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
EasyAVR v8 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 6 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • nfc6_send_command - This function sends a desired command by using SPI serial interface

  • nfc6_read_data - This function reads a response data bytes by using SPI serial interface

  • nfc6_read_mifare_tag_uid - This function reads the UID of a MIFARE ISO14443-A type tags with 4-byte or 7-byte UIDs

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 NFC 6 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of NFC 6 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 logger, performs the Click default configuration and
 * reads the device ID.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * If there's a tag detected, it reads its UID and displays it on the USB UART every 500ms.
 *
 * @note
 * Only ISO14443-A type 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 "nfc6.h"

static nfc6_t nfc6;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    nfc6_cfg_t nfc6_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.
    nfc6_cfg_setup( &nfc6_cfg );
    NFC6_MAP_MIKROBUS( nfc6_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == nfc6_init( &nfc6, &nfc6_cfg ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( NFC6_ERROR == nfc6_default_cfg ( &nfc6 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }

    uint8_t device_id[ 13 ] = { 0 };
    nfc6_send_command ( &nfc6, NFC6_CMD_IDN, NULL, NULL );
    if ( NFC6_OK == nfc6_read_data ( &nfc6, device_id, sizeof ( device_id ), NULL ) )
    {
        log_printf ( &logger, " Device ID: %s\r\n", device_id );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    uint8_t tag_uid[ NFC6_TAG_UID_MAX_LEN ] = { 0 };
    uint8_t tag_uid_len = 0;
    if ( NFC6_OK == nfc6_read_mifare_tag_uid ( &nfc6, tag_uid, &tag_uid_len ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " TAG UID: " );
        for ( uint8_t cnt = 0; cnt < tag_uid_len; cnt++ )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, "0x%.2X ", ( uint16_t ) tag_uid[ cnt ] );
        }
        log_printf( &logger, "\r\n----------------------------------\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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