The Near Field Communication (NFC) ISO/IEC 14443 standard defines the requirements for proximity cards or smart cards commonly used for identification purposes. The ISO/IEC differentiates these cards from close-coupled cards (ISO/IEC 10536), which provide extremely close distances with the coupling device, and vicinity cards (ISO/IEC 15693), which provide longer distances from the associated coupling device. The standard appears in four parts, as presented in the following list:
- ISO/IEC 14443-1:2008 Part 1: Physical characteristics:Â Specifies how the cards are put together physically. The standard discusses two types of cards: identification cards conforming to ISO/IEC 7810, and thin, flexible cards conforming to ISO/IEC 15457-1. However, the standard also recognizes that the technology could appear in other forms.
- ISO/IEC 14443-2:2010 Part 2: Radio frequency power and signal interface: Determines the characteristics of the fields used to provide power and bidirectional communication between proximity coupling devices (PCDs) and proximity cards or objects (PICCs). This specification doesn’t determine the means used to generate the field. Type A, B, and FeliCa cards use different modulation methods and coding schemes.
- ISO/IEC 14443-3:2011 Part 3: Initialization and anticollision:Â Defines how the communication process begins, proceeds, and ends. For example, this part of the standard describes how a device polls (looks for) potential connection and then initiates a command to start communications. Type A, B, and FeliCa cards use different protocol initialization procedures.