Amplifier Characterization Tests
NFC ForumTM
2014-05-09
Version 1.0.00
RESTRICTIONS ON USE
This document is copyright © 2014 by the NFC Forum, and is made available subject to the following
terms:
1.
You may, without charge, copy (for internal purposes only) and share this document with your
members, employees, and (to the extent related to the use of this document on your behalf) consultants.
You may not modify or create derivative works of this document for external distribution.
2.
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NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. IN NO EVENT SHALL NFC FORUM, ITS
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NFC Forum, Inc.
401 Edgewater Place, Suite 600
Wakefield, MA, USA 01880
Last published May 19, 2014
Contents
Contents
1 Introduction.................................................................................................... 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
Initial need ..................................................................................................................... 1
Objective ....................................................................................................................... 1
Applicable Documents or References ........................................................................... 1
Administration ............................................................................................................... 1
Name and Logo Usage .................................................................................................. 1
Intellectual Property ...................................................................................................... 2
Special Word Usage ...................................................................................................... 2
Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 2
2 Procedure ....................................................................................................... 3
2.1
2.2
Step 1 (Setup) ................................................................................................................ 3
Step 2 (Loaded Conditions) ........................................................................................... 3
A. Template and Reference Values................................................................... 1
B. Environmental Condition .............................................................................. 2
C. Revision History ............................................................................................ 3
Tables
Table 1: Reference Poller Expected Values .................................................................................... 3
Table 2: Template and Reference Values ........................................................................................ 1
Table 3: Revision History................................................................................................................ 3
Amplifier Characterization Tests
Page i
Introduction
1 Introduction
1.1
Initial need
How do we determine if the amplification stage of a test tool is compliant with the expected
behavior?
1.2
Objective
This document defines the expected behavior for the amplification stage of a test tool in the form
of a common test procedure and in order to guarantee the uniformity between different test tool.
The objective is to ensure repeatability and consistency in Radio Frequency (RF) measurements
among different test tools when the Reference Poller is loaded by a Device Under Test (DUT).
This procedure focuses only on the amplification stage of a test tool and not on the reference
equipment (NFC Forum reference Pollers and Listeners). However the reference equipment is
used to perform the test in order to place the amplification stage of a test tool in loaded and
detuned conditions.
This procedure has to be followed by the Validation House in charge of test tool validation.
1.3
Applicable Documents or References
[ANALOG]
Analog Technical Specification,
NFC Forum
[ANALOG_TC]
Test Cases for Analog Technical Specification,
NFC Forum
[RFC2119]
Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels, RFC
2119,
S. Bradner,
March 1997,
Internet Engineering Task Force
[TEST_REQ]
NFC Forum Certification Testing Requirement,
NFC Forum
1.4
Administration
The Amplifier Characterization Tests is a document supported by the Near Field Communication
Forum, Inc., located at:
401 Edgewater Place, Suite 600
Wakefield, MA, 01880
Tel.: +1 781-876-8955
Fax: +1 781-610-9864
http://www.nfc-forum.org/
1.5
Name and Logo Usage
The Near Field Communication Forum’s policy regarding the use of the trademarks NFC Forum
and the NFC Forum logo is as follows:
Amplifier Characterization Tests
Page 1
Introduction
•
Any company MAY claim compatibility with NFC Forum specifications, whether a member
of the NFC Forum or not.
•
Permission to use the NFC Forum logos is automatically granted to designated members only
as stipulated on the most recent Membership Privileges document, during the period of time
for which their membership dues are paid.
•
Member’s distributors and sales representatives MAY use the NFC Forum logo in promoting
member’s products sold under the name of the member.
•
The logo SHALL be printed in black or in color as illustrated on the Logo Page that is
available from the NFC Forum at the address above. The aspect ratio of the logo SHALL be
maintained, but the size MAY be varied. Nothing MAY be added to or deleted from the
logos.
•
Since the NFC Forum name is a trademark of the Near Field Communication Forum, the
following statement SHALL be included in all published literature and advertising material in
which the name or logo appears:
NFC Forum and the NFC Forum logo are trademarks of the Near Field Communication
Forum.
1.6
Intellectual Property
This document conforms to the Intellectual Property guidelines specified in the NFC Forum's
Intellectual Property Rights Policy (http://nfc-forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/NFCForum-IPR-Policy.pdf), as outlined in the NFC Forum Rules of Procedure (http://nfcforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/NFC-Forum-Rules-of-Procedure.pdf).
1.7
Special Word Usage
The key words “SHALL”, “SHALL NOT”, “SHOULD”, “SHOULD NOT”, and “MAY” in this
document with the exception of the RESTRICTION ON USE section are to be interpreted as
described in [RFC2119].
1.8
Glossary
DUT
Device Under Test
Listener
NFC Forum Reference Listener
Poller
NFC Forum Reference Poller
RF
Radio Frequency
Amplifier Characterization Tests
Page 2
Procedure
2 Procedure
The test procedure is to check that the voltage output at J2 of the Reference Poller is in the
acceptable range in the following conditions:
•
Poller 0 tested against Listener 1
•
Poller 3 tested against Listener 3
•
Poller 6 tested against Listener 6
For each of the above combinations, the measurements will be conducted with:
•
Reference Poller not loaded (setup procedure in free air condition)
•
Reference Poller loaded by the Reference Listener at 0mm
•
Reference Poller loaded by the Reference Listener at 5mm
Requirement: To perform the following steps, the Validation House shall use its own reference
set of Reference Pollers and Listeners and a suitable oscilloscope (50Ω input, accuracy better than
2% for Vpp measurement and channel set to the optimum configuration).
2.1
Step 1 (Setup)
1. Connect the output of the amplification stage of the test tool to J1 of the Reference Poller.
2. Connect J2 of the Reference Poller to the oscilloscope (50Ω input).
3. Setup the test tool to emit a carrier without any modulation (fsc nominal).
4. Measure the Peak-Peak value on J2 of the Reference Poller.
5. Adjust the power level of the test tool to the expected value (see Table 1)
Table 1: Reference Poller Expected Values
Reference Poller
mVpp
Poller 0
818
Poller 3
400
Poller 6
686
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the measured signal reaches the expected value with a maximum
tolerance of 2%.
7. Report the setup value in the template (Appendix A).
2.2
Step 2 (Loaded Conditions)
8. Use the same test conditions as described in Step 1 (connections and power level of the test
tool).
Amplifier Characterization Tests
Page 3
Procedure
Place the Reference Listener (820Ω load) in position 000 with respect to the positioning
convention described in [ANALOG] and [RFC2119] Key words for
use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels, RFC 2119,
S. Bradner,
March 1997,
Internet Engineering Task Force
9. [TEST_REQ].
10. Measure the Peak-Peak value on J2 of the Reference Poller.
11. Report the measured value in the template (Appendix A).
Place the Reference Listener in position 100 (820Ω load) with respect to the positioning
convention described in [ANALOG] and [RFC2119] Key words for
use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels, RFC 2119,
S. Bradner,
March 1997,
Internet Engineering Task Force
12. [TEST_REQ].
13. Measure the Peak-Peak value on J2 of the Reference Poller.
14. Report the measured value in the template (Appendix A).
Acceptance criteria: For each combination of Reference Poller / Reference Listener, all
measured values shall be in the range defined in Appendix A (min and max values).
Amplifier Characterization Tests
Page 4
Template and Reference Values
A.
Template and Reference Values
Use the following table to verify the correct functionality of the test tool.
Table 2: Template and Reference Values
Reference equipment
Distance
Vpp (J2)
Vpp Setup
(mVpp)
Load
Poller Listener (Ohms) Z (mm)
Vpp
Measured
(mVpp)
Limits
Min (mVpp) Max (mVpp)
0
NA
NA
NA (free air)
0
1
820
0
149.3
182.4
0
1
820
5
245.3
299.9
3
NA
NA
NA (free air)
3
3
820
0
40.9
60.9
3
3
820
5
124.5
152.2
6
NA
NA
NA (free air)
6
6
820
0
69.1
89.1
6
6
820
5
262.8
321.2
Amplifier Characterization Tests
818
400
686
Page 1
Environmental Condition
B.
Environmental Condition
The normal temperature and humidity conditions for the Amplifier Characterization Tests (ACT)
should be any combination of temperature and humidity within the following ranges:
•
Temperature: 23°C ± 3°C
•
Relative humidity: 40 % to 60 %
Amplifier Characterization Tests
Page 2
Revision History
C.
Revision History
The following table outlines the revision history.
Table 3: Revision History
Document Name
Revision &
Release Date
Status
Amplifier
Characterization
Tests (ACT)
Version 1.0.00,
May 9, 2014
Final
Amplifier Characterization Tests
Change Notice
Supersedes
Page 3