NFC - Near Field Communication

NFC is bringing a whole new wave of exciting services to mobile devices. These services use existing contactless card infrastructures and cell phone networks, raising the bar for security, performance and convenience across wireless applications. NFC-enabled smart phones can be used for example to

• Purchase goods 
• Exchange information with other cell phones or terminals 
• Download content (information, vouchers, etc.) by reading NFC tags on billboards and posters
• Gain access to transport systems and secure buildings/events

The possibilities are manifold. Imagine paying for groceries at the checkout with your smart phone or holding your cell phone in front of an NFC-enabled turnstile to access your underground train station. With an NFC ecosystem, billboards become store fronts where you can request information, cash in vouchers or even order products. And to transfer content, photos and money, all you have to do is touch phones with a friend.

There are, however, a number of challenges – particularly in the area of security. Widespread market penetration of NFC and consumer trust hinge on a robust security concept similar to the security levels provided by security-certified credit cards. Secure data storage and management must therefore be built from the ground up into the design of NFC-ready hardware and applications. Convenience is also a key success factor – users expect communications and transactions to be processed quickly, reliably and intuitively. This calls for high-performance solutions.

Infineon is member of the NFC Forum™ and other NFC-relevant standardization bodies.
We actively drive and influence the NFC market development for many years and currently lead this market with a broad portfolio offering the perfect fit for every NFC application and business model. Our products support every way to bring hardware based security directly into mobile devices – either as SWP-Secure Elements for NFC SIM Cards or as an Embedded Secure Element with an open Digital ContactLess Bridge (DCLB) interface for optimized communication between the security controller and the NFC modem. Alternatively, we offer secure elements for NFC Micro SD cards.
Besides that we also offer memory chips for NFC tags supporting smart posters, loyalty programs and device pairing. 

Building on our track record for excellence in contactless technologies and our payment and security leadership, our entire portfolio is designed to meet the security, performance and energy-efficiency demands of the emerging NFC market. For instance, our embedded secure elements featuring our award-winning Integrity Guard concept ensure particularly robust protection of sensitive payment and authentication data. This security technology bundles several highly sophisticated digital security mechanisms to cover a vast range of potential attacks. Our security ICs are certified according to the CC and EMVCo international standards.

There are many reasons why it makes sense to partner with Infineon for your NFC projects:

• We deliver into the SIMpass NFC project in China – the world’s first NFC SIM-based mass  market payment solution with over 3 million active users. 
• We supply SIMs for France’s NFC pilot project in Nice – the first of its kind in Europe and supported by operators such as Orange. 
• Back in February 2009, we demonstrated the world's first Mifare-compatible SIM-based solution for mobile NFC services. 
• We invented the open Digital ContactLess Bridge (DCLB) interface, the fastest connectivity interface between an embedded secure element and an NFC modem. 
• For design flexibility, we support a wide range of interfaces dedicated to NFC (SWP, DCLB, I²C, CL). 
• Our 16-/32-bit platform portfolio is broad and modular. 
• You can choose from the broadest portfolio of NFC type 2 tags. 
• We serve several NFC device pairing projects (e.g. headset and cell phone with our my-d™ move NFC) 
• We invented CIPURSE™ a new open standard for secure transit fare collection solutions and co-founded the OSPT Alliance.