Near Field Communication (NFC): A Technical Overview

Abstract

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is a new wireless short range communication technique for data transmission between intelligent devices such as mobile phones by integrating a small NFC reader into the cellular phones. This new technology supports the communication link within distance of up to 4 cm. NFC developed over Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), where it uses magnetic field induction to establish a communication link between devices. The main purpose of developing NFC is for the useful application it provides such as wireless payment and ticketing, electronic keys, identification and so on. Applying NFC for these matters is beneficial because of the peer-to-peer communication which exists behind it. For example this technology prepares the possibility of quick set up a Bluetooth or a WLAN connection without any manual configuration. Also wireless payments and identification will be applied worldwide in near future using contactless feature of NFC. The purpose of this thesis is to review the technical aspects of NFC technology such as Radio Frequency (RF) containing Modulation techniques, Underlying Protocol and Frame format, Applications and finally the Security of NFC will be discussed.