What is NFC technology

NFC is short-range wireless communication technology. This technology evolved from non-contact radio frequency identification (RFID) and was jointly developed by Philips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors), Nokia and Sony, based on RFID and interconnect technology. Near Field Communication is a short-range, high-frequency radio technology that operates at a distance of 10 centimeters at 13.56MHz. The transmission speed is 106Kbit/sec, 212Kbit/sec or 424Kbit/sec.

NFC combines the functions of a contactless reader, contactless card and peer-to-peer on a single chip, enabling identification and data exchange with compatible devices over short distances.

NFC has three working modes: active mode, passive mode and bidirectional mode.
1. Active mode: In active mode, when each device wants to send data to another device, it must generate its own radio frequency field, and both the initiating device and the target device must generate their own radio frequency field for communication. This is the standard mode of peer-to-peer communication and allows for a very fast connection setup.
2. Passive communication mode: The passive communication mode is just the opposite of the active mode. At this time, the NFC terminal is simulated as a card, which only passively responds to the radio frequency field sent by other devices and reads/writes information.
3. Two-way mode: In this mode, both sides of the NFC terminal actively send out the radio frequency field to establish point-to-point communication. Equivalent to both NFC devices in active mode.

NFC, as a popular near field communication technology in recent years, is widely used. NFC applications can be roughly divided into the following three basic types

1. Payment
NFC payment application mainly refers to the application of mobile phone with NFC function to simulate bank card, card and so on. The NFC payment application can be divided into two parts: open-loop application and closed-loop application. The application of NFC virtualized into a bank card is called an open-loop application. Ideally, a mobile phone with NFC function and adding an analog bank card can be used as a bank card to swipe the mobile phone on POS machines in supermarkets and shopping malls. However, due to the popularity of Alipay and WeChat in China, the actual proportion of NFC in domestic payment applications is relatively small, and it is more connected and bundled with Alipay and WeChat Pay as a means of assisting Alipay and WeChat Pay for identity authentication.

The application of NFC simulating a one-card card is called a closed-loop application. At present, the development of NFC closed-loop applications in China is not ideal. Although the public transportation system in some cities has opened the NFC function of mobile phones, it has not been popularized. Although some mobile phone companies have piloted the NFC bus card function of mobile phones in some cities, they generally need to activate service fees. However, it is believed that with the popularization of NFC mobile phones and the continuous maturity of NFC technology, the one-card system will gradually support the application of NFC mobile phones, and the closed-loop application will have a bright future.

2. Security application
The application of NFC security is mainly to virtualize mobile phones into access control cards, electronic tickets, etc. The NFC virtual access control card is to write the existing access control card data into the NFC of the mobile phone, so that the access control function can be realized by using a mobile phone with an NFC function block without using a smart card. The application of NFC virtual electronic ticket is that after the user purchases the ticket, the ticketing system sends the ticket information to the mobile phone. The mobile phone with NFC function can virtualize the ticket information into an electronic ticket, and the mobile phone can be directly swiped at the ticket check. The application of NFC in security system is an important field of NFC application in the future, and the prospect is very broad. The application of NFC in this field can not only save the cost of operators, but also bring a lot of convenience to users. Using mobile phones to virtually replace physical access control cards or magnetic card tickets can reduce the production cost of both to a certain extent, and at the same time facilitate users to open and swipe cards, improve the degree of automation to a certain extent, reduce the cost of hiring card-issuing personnel and improve service efficiency.

3. NFC tag application
The application of the NFC tag is to write some information into an NFC tag, and the user can immediately obtain the relevant information by simply swiping the NFC tag with the NFC mobile phone. For example, merchants can put NFC tags containing posters, promotional information, and advertisements at the door of the store. Users can use NFC mobile phones to obtain relevant information according to their needs, and can log in to social networks to share details or good things with friends. At present, NFC tags are widely used in time attendance cards, access control cards and bus cards, etc., and the NFC tag information is identified and read through a special NFC reading device. 

Handheld-wireless has been focusing on the development and production of IoT devices based on RFID technology for many years, providing customers with customized products and services including RFID reading and writing equipment, NFC handsets, barcode scanners, biometric handhelds, electronic tags and related application software.