SE050 NFC Only

[Kmlj]

Hi, I’m planning to build a SIM card-sized device using an NXP SE050 and an NFC antenna, with no external power source (fully NFC-powered).

I’d like to confirm:

- Can SE050 run entirely on NFC power (from a phone or reader)?

- What’s the best way to configure SE050 via APDU commands – using pre-installed applets vs. custom applets? 

- Any optimization tips for NFC antenna design to ensure stable power?

Would appreciate any insights from those experienced with secure elements & NFC power harvesting! 

[makinako]

Some quick comments:

• Yes you can run on NFC power, but if you are talking about SIM/ID000 format (25x15mm) or smaller, you may find it a challenge to design to have a decent reading distance. This isn't just because of the theoretical constraints, but because many NFC/14443 readers have poor antenna designs (or they have a lot of interferance around them) and so even with an ideal card antenna, some only achieve very small reading distances. I'm not an RF engineer so this comment is only from observed experience.
  
  
• The SE050 product is not intended to be used as a Java Card (for loading custom applets). However it is based on the same hardware/OS that is, so you can choose an equivalent that is intended for Java Cards(P71D600/P71D321).
  
  
• Having said the above, the answer to whether you should use the SE050 (or newer SE052) and its cryptographic functionality vs a custom java card applet is really about your use case. If you CAN use the crypto on the applets, it will probably save you a fair bit of development time.

[Kmlj]

Yes I’m planning to use crypto on the applet, but need also custom function like I send APDU and use in function some applet that return result

[Kan_Li]

Hi @Kmlj ,

Yes, SE050 can run entirely on NFC power from a phone or reader, but it doesn't need to be configured for that purpose, it selects NFC interface automatically during power up if there is RF clock on LA/LB. The dev kit of OM-SE050ARD can be used for evaluation purpose, you may refer to section 4.4 in https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/application-note/AN12395.pdf for more details.

Regarding the tips for NFC antenna design, the SE05x IC has 56 pF internal chip capacity between LA / LB. Antenna design principle like with NTAG I2C: https://community.nxp.com/docs/DOC-341105

There are more tips regarding antenna design in https://www.nxp.com/webapp/Download?colCode=AN13483 and https://www.nxp.com/webapp/Download?colCode=AN12514 .

Hope that helps,

Have a great day,
Kan

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