Application Report
SLOA200 – June 2014

Using RF430CL330H VCORE Pin to Wake Up Host MCU
via a Presented NFC/RFID High Frequency Magnetic Field
Eddie LaCostABSTRACT
In battery powered applications, current consumption is always a key concern. NFC/RFID is now
commonly being used in many market segments such as Medical, Consumer, Retail, Industrial,Automotive and Smart Grid. Many of the application use cases inside these segments operate frombattery power and efficient use of the battery is expected. This report describes an approach to reduce theoverall current consumption of a dynamic NFC/RFID tag system utilizing the RF430CL330H by leveraging
the application of an external field and the VCORE pin level driving a simple transistor circuit to ‘wake-up’
the attached host microcontroller. This circuit layout is implemented on the RF430CL330HTB PCB.
Project collateral and source code discussed in this application report can be downloaded from thefollowing URL: http://www.ti.com/lit/zip/sloa200.

123
456Contents
Reference Design Hardware ...............................................................................................
Typical Operation ............................................................................................................
Wake on NFC/RFID Field Detection Operation ..........................................................................
How to Implement With MSP-EXP430FR5739 + RF430CL330HTB Hardware .....................................
Test Results ..................................................................................................................
References ...................................................................................................................

223567

List of Figures
1RF430CL330HTB + MSP-EXP430FR5739 .............................................................................. 2

2

Typical Operation Flow Diagram........................................................................................... 3

3Wake Circuit .................................................................................................................. 4

4

Typical Wake Up Operation Flow Diagram ............................................................................... 45RF430CL330HTB With Wake Up Circuit Populated .................................................................... 56Power to I2C Communication .............................................................................................. 6
List of Tables

1RF Enabled Current Consumption ........................................................................................ 62Power Modes ................................................................................................................ 63

Wake up vs. Communication Range ...................................................................................... 7

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1

Reference Design Hardware

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1

Reference Design Hardware

1.1

RF430CL330HTB + MSP-EXP430FR5739
In this document, the RF430CL330HTB and MSP-EXP430FR5739 evaluation boards are referenced ashardware examples. Example code projects are written for the MSP430FR5739, but could be ported toother platforms as required. The example code uses an I2C communication between the MSP430FR5739
and RF430CL330H. For more information on the RF430CL330HTB board and RF430CL330H device, see
the following links:• RF430CL330H Target Board: http://www.ti.com/tool/rf430cl330htb• RF430CL330H IC: http://www.ti.com/lit/gpn/rf430cl330hFigure 1. RF430CL330HTB + MSP-EXP430FR5739

2Typical Operation
The typical usage scenario of the RF430CL330H can be seen in figure 2 and in the steps below.
1. Write capability container and messages into the NDEF memory (starting from address 0) using theserial interface.
2. Enable interrupts as needed (typically End of Read and End of Write interrupts).
3. Configure the interrupt pin, INTO, as needed and enable the RF interface.
4. Wait for interrupt signaled by INTO.
5. Disable RF interface (but keep INTO settings unchanged).
6. Read interrupt flag register to determine interrupt sources.
7. Clear interrupt flags. INTO returns to inactive state.
8. Read and modify NDEF memory as needed.
9. Enable RF interface again (keeping INTO settings unchanged).

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NFC/RFID High Frequency Magnetic Field
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Initialize NDEF
ApplicationMemory(via serial interface)

Enable RF = 1RF Interface Active(no modifications via
serial interface)
NoModifications
via SerialInterface
Required?

Yes

RF Busy = 0?

NoWait for ˜1-2ms
orEnd-of-Read/WriteInterrupts

Yes

Enable RF = 0

Modify NDEF
Memory via SerialInterface

Figure 2. Typical Operation Flow Diagram

3

Wake on NFC/RFID Field Detection Operation
The typical operation is acceptable for many applications where ultra-low power is not a requirement, but
total system current consumption can be reduced by leaving the RF430CL330H unpowered when it is notin use. In the typical use case, RF is enabled at step 3 as shown in Figure 2 and the device is waiting toreceive commands from an NFC reader. When RF is enabled, the RF430CL330H has a typical current
consumption of ~40 µA.
A simple NPN transistor switch circuit can be added to provide an active low interrupt to the connected
microcontroller indicating that a 13.56 MHz RF field was detected and the RF430CL330H should bepowered and configured, so that it can respond to the commands. The circuit is shown in Figure 3. Whena 13.56 MHz field is applied, the RF430CL330H VCORE pin (pin 13 of the RF430CL330H) is raised to 1.5
V, which is then used to drive the base of the NPN transistor (acting as a switch) providing an active lowinterrupt signal to the connected microcontroller, at the correct GPIO voltage level for the MCU being usedin this example system (3.6 V).

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Figure 3. Wake Circuit
Figure 4 illustrates the typical wake up operation. The MSP430FR5739 example source code included
with this application report follows this flow.
MSP430FR5739
in LPM3 waiting for RF
detected interrupt

NoRF detected?

Yes

Turn on GPIO
to power
RF430CL330H

20ms delay
to allow
RF430CL330H
time to settle

Initialize RF430
and write NDEF
message toSRAM(RF430 can
now be read/written
by NFC reader)

Turn off GPIO topower down
RF30CL330H

No~5s timeout
complete?

Yes

Figure 4. Typical Wake Up Operation Flow Diagram

4Using RF430CL330H VCORE Pin to Wake Up Host MCU via a Presented
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4

How to Implement With MSP-EXP430FR5739 + RF430CL330HTB Hardware
The RF430CL330HTB is provisioned with unpopulated pads for the required wake up circuit. To enable
this functionality, follow the steps shown below:
1. Remove R9 on the RF430CL330HTB to disconnect power being supplied to the RF430CL330H.
2. Remove R12 to prevent back powering.
3. Add Q1. This can be any general purpose NPN such as 2N2222 or 2N3904 in SOT-23 package.
4. Add R10 and R11. (10kΩ, 0402 package)
5. Load the updated firmware to the MSP-EXP430FR5739 board. Refer to Users Guide for details(http://www.ti.com/lit/pdf/slou373).
6. Connect the RF430CL330HTB with the hardware modifications.
7. Plug in USB to apply power.
8. Present NFC phone to the RF430CL330HTB antenna to read the tag.
When RF field is detected, LED5 will illuminate. Power and Initialization sequence then occurs. NFC
phone will now read the “Hello, World!” message. RF430CL330H will stay active with RF enabled for a
specified time out period (~3s) to allow all communication to complete.

Figure 5. RF430CL330HTB With Wake Up Circuit Populated

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Test Results

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5

Test Results

5.1

Current Consumption
When the RF field is not detected, the transistor (Q1) is off and only leakage current of the transistor isconsumed. Typical general purpose NPN transistors have leakage current in the nanoamp range. Once
the RF field is detected and RF is enabled on the RF430CL330H, the typical current consumption of theRF430CL330H is 40 µA as shown in Table 1. After communication is complete and the MSP430 has
timed out, power is removed from the RF430CL330H and the board only consumes leakage current of thetransistor once again.
Table 1. RF Enabled Current Consumption
Parameter

Test Conditions

VCCTYPMAXUnit

ICC(SPI)

SPI, fSCK,MAX, SO = Open, Writing into NDEF
memory

3.3 V

250

µA

ICC(I2C)

I2C, 400 kHz, Writing into NDEF memory

3.3 V

250

µA

ICC(RF_enabled)

RF enabled, no RF field present

3.3 V

40

µA

ICC(Inactive)

Standby enable = 0, RF disabled, no serial
communication

3.3 V

15

µA

ICC(Standby)

Standby enable = 1, RF disabled, no serial
communication

3.3 V

10

ΔICC(StrongRF)

Additional current consumption with strong FR
field present

ICC(RF,IowVCC)

Current drawn from VCC < 3.0 V with RF fieldpresent (passive operation)45µA

3.0 V to 3.6 V160µA

2.0 V to 3.0 V0µA

Table 2. Power Modes (1)

(1)

5.2

Power ModeCurrent

Standby (RF undetected)~100 nA

RF active

40 µA

Standby current can vary depending on the leakage current of the transistor.

TimingVCC

SDA(I2C Data)
SDA (I2C Data)

Figure 6. Power to I2C Communication
6Using RF430CL330H VCORE Pin to Wake Up Host MCU via a Presented
NFC/RFID High Frequency Magnetic Field
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5.3Range
It is important to note that the wake up range is slightly greater than the communication range as shown inTable 3. This provides time for the microcontroller to power up and initialize the RF430CL330H before theNFC reader device is within communication range for a seamless user experience. Figure 6 shows thetime from power up until when I2C communication starts, which is 20 ms, per the RF430CL330Hspecification. The time required for the I2C communication can vary depending upon the size of the NDEF
message and I2C data rate (400 kHz max). In the “Hello, World!” example shown in Figure 6, the time is~3 ms.
Table 3. Wake up vs. Communication Range

6

NFC R/W Device

Wake upCommunication

TRF7970AEVM

7.5cm

6.5cm

References•••

RF430CL330H Dynamic NFC Interface Transponder Data Manual (SLAS916)
RF430CL330H Target Board User's Guide (SLOU373)
MSP-EXP430FR5739 Experimenters Board (http://www.ti.com/tool/msp-exp430fr5739)

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