The Internet of Things shows no signs of being a short-lived fad. Each new application adds many endpoints to the Internet. This is apparent by the proliferation of different wireless technologies, operating across a large part of the RF spectrum.
With a wide range of IoT endpoints engineers are presented with a significant problem in their commissioning and servicing. The endpoints need to be repairable and a low cost infrastructure is preferred, hence the adoption of license-free wireless solutions. These endpoints are not always physically or electronically accessible, which presents an additional problem that will need to be resolved.
Using ON Semiconductor’s RF EEPROM, the N24RF series, engineers can design IoT endpoints that can store operational data and communicate it to a service engineer, even when the power source fails or is removed completely.
The N24RF series of RF EEPROM integrate an RF/NFC transceiver that complies with the ISO 15693 / ISO 18000-3 Mode 1 standard along with 4 kb, 16 kb or 64 kb Serial EEPROM. It offers 2 million program/erase cycles with 200 years of data retention and can operate over a temperature range of -40°C to +105°C. The device uses passive RFID meaning all of its power can be derived from the RF field when an external coil antenna is attached. The device is classified as a High Frequency (HF) RFID, operating at a carrier frequency of 13.56 MHz, which enables it to communicate with an RFID reader at low (1.65 Kbit/s) and high (26.48 Kbit/s) speeds up to 53 Kbit/s for Fast Commands. Contrary to others, the passive RFID implementation is able to achieve this over a distance of 1.5m.
Using passive RFID makes it possible to integrate an IoT endpoint to recover vital data logs following a fault, even if the rest of the circuit has lost power or is malfunctioning. It also supports Over The Air (OTA) updates to calibration or operational parameters, while the endpoint is still operating. Chip-to-chip communication is implemented using the I2C bus, enabling a host processor to read from and write to the device during normal operation, allowing calibration or operational parameters to be updated in the field without any interruption to service.
The N24RF series use the RTF (Reader Talks First) technique. It wakes when an electromagnetic field is present, applied through inductive coupling. However, due to its extended range, despite the IoT endpoint being inaccessible, it can still be simply integrated by an engineer using an RFID reader standing below the fitting.
Examples of the application space where the N24RF series of RF EEPROM can be used is illustrated below:
EEPROMs are used extensively for data logging and parameter storage in many applications that need high endurance and proven data retention. By adding RFID capability, that same data can be accessed wirelessly and securely, over a distance of 1.5m, providing a new dimension to IoT endpoint design.
Watch the video and find out more about the N24RF series of RF EEPROM.
