BCM20737s: NFC Reader or only TAG?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi All,

Datasheet of BCM20737s: not yet on community…   draft is fine too.

Does BCM20737s support NFC READER or only TAG function?

Can SW of -32s be reused for -36s /-37s?   question is targeting amount of work for sw porting to higher versions…

How much memory is free within -36s? with -32s was mentioned 30kB, but FW of 36s will use more memory, pls update.

Is it possible to strip used memory by BT-FW?

Thanks, Andi

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1 Solution
MichaelF_56
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Quite a few questions here, so let me see if I can answer them all.

1.

Datasheet for the 20737S should be available on the website within the next few weeks.  Note that since the HW is identical to the 20736/32S, you could use those datasheets (available) in the meantime.

2.

Niether.


We include support for an NFC tag waking up the BCM20737 over GPIO when a reader reads from the tag. It then sends pre-programmed information over a BLE link which is similar to what’s stored in the NFC tag. An NFC Tag and Reader still required within the application.

3.

Define software.

The BCM20732/36 and 20737 are indeed source code compatible.  However, firmware generated for the 20732 based product cannot be used on the 20736/37 based products and vice versa.

4.

There is just under 30K of free RAM available on the 20736/37 based product.  On the 20732 based product, this figure is closer to 20K.  More memory is free in the newer firmware based on better patch management in the latest rev.  With regards to new features taking space, this is not necessarily the case as many features only occupy RAM once used. For instance, the extra RAM needed for RSA on the 20737 can is only allocated by apps that require the RSA library.

5.

I'm not not sure what's being asked wrt to striping used memory in firmware.

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8 Replies
MichaelF_56
Moderator
Moderator
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250 sign-ins 25 comments on blog 10 comments on blog

Quite a few questions here, so let me see if I can answer them all.

1.

Datasheet for the 20737S should be available on the website within the next few weeks.  Note that since the HW is identical to the 20736/32S, you could use those datasheets (available) in the meantime.

2.

Niether.


We include support for an NFC tag waking up the BCM20737 over GPIO when a reader reads from the tag. It then sends pre-programmed information over a BLE link which is similar to what’s stored in the NFC tag. An NFC Tag and Reader still required within the application.

3.

Define software.

The BCM20732/36 and 20737 are indeed source code compatible.  However, firmware generated for the 20732 based product cannot be used on the 20736/37 based products and vice versa.

4.

There is just under 30K of free RAM available on the 20736/37 based product.  On the 20732 based product, this figure is closer to 20K.  More memory is free in the newer firmware based on better patch management in the latest rev.  With regards to new features taking space, this is not necessarily the case as many features only occupy RAM once used. For instance, the extra RAM needed for RSA on the 20737 can is only allocated by apps that require the RSA library.

5.

I'm not not sure what's being asked wrt to striping used memory in firmware.

Hi,

May I ask more about NFC pairing support. Since BCM20737 needs only one GPIO from NFC tag circuit to wake up from sleep, I don't know why this is limited to BCM20737 only. I suppose this is working for BCM20736, or even BCM20732. Am I right?

Jensen

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The NFC feature is only available/supported on the BCM20737

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Here's some additional information that may help clarify the previous response:


-NFC is not recommended nor has it been tested on any  chip other than 20737

-Our passive tags have been tested with the 20737 only

-the 20737 has security features which can be used in conjunction with the tag for combined  use cases.

-Any future development of NFC (or related use cases) is slated for 20737 only.

Anonymous
Not applicable

any app notes on NFC  with mentioned chip?

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Unfortunately, I am not aware of an AppNote available today which explains how to use the NFC integration capability for the BCM20737S.

Note that with regards to NFC, we only support for an NFC tag waking up the BCM20737 over GPIO when an external NFC reader reads from a separate NFC tag that's included in the same design with our BCM20737S.

Once awaken by the GPIO, the BCM20737S then sends pre-programmed information (placed on the part in the customer's production process) over a BLE link which is similar to what is stored in the NFC tag.

You still need an NFC Tag and Reader within the application. In addition, this feature cannot be used for OOB pairing.

Is this the functionality you are looking for within your application?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi ,

I looked at the WICED SDK and cant see any specific code for reading of the NFC tag .

Is there any specific code ?

Also, is there an example schematic or Tag that you have used in testing ?

Cheers

Mark

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There are no sample applications available today which shows this functionality in action.

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