Panthronics PTX100R NFC reader ready for Japanese market after evaluation board passes FeliCa compliance tests and gains MIC certification

Manufacturers of point-of-sale terminals and NFC-enabled IoT devices can now use the high-performance PTX100R reader IC with confidence that new product designs will pass FeliCa and MIC RF compliance tests

GRAZ, Austria, Nov. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Panthronics AG, a fabless semiconductor company specializing in high performance wireless technology, today announced that its PTX100R high-performance NFC reader IC has passed all FeliCa laboratory-mandated compliance pre-tests, demonstrating that it is fully compliant with the FeliCa interface specifications. It has also gained approval for its conformity with the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) RF specifications.

Tens of millions of Japanese consumers use FeliCa cards or a FeliCa smartphone app to make micro-payments and for ticketing, so NFC-enabled devices intended for sale to the Japanese market must pass the standard FeliCa compliance tests.

Now the Panthronics PTX100R evaluation board v1.4 has passed the full set of RF, protocol and digital compliance tests defined in the FeliCa standard. This means that manufacturers of products which include an embedded PTX100R reader IC, such as point-of-sale terminals, mobile devices and IoT equipment, can be confident that their end product design will also comply with the FeliCa standard.

The PTX100R is backed by a full-featured software development kit (SDK) which accelerates the development of an application's NFC, FeliCa and EMVCo software. The SDK includes a Factory Test API which provides ready-made source code for running the MIC RF tests. The SDK also provides an API which implements all the test cases required for running the FeliCa tests at the official Sony test centre.

Official RF certification

Panthronics can also announce that the PTX100R has achieved compliance with the Japanese government's MIC RF regulations, which govern the RF emissions behaviour of electronic devices, and so is officially approved for sale in the Japanese market. In concert with component distributor Arrow, Panthronics took the PTX100R evaluation board through MIC testing at the official independent TELEC testing laboratory.

High-performance NFC reader provides robust connectivity

The PTX100R NFC reader IC implements a unique sine-wave NFC architecture which produces higher RF output power and sensitivity while requiring fewer components and a smaller board footprint than conventional square-wave NFC reader ICs. Thanks to the superior performance of the PTX100R, Panthronics has seen surging demand for its chip from manufacturers of the latest generation of PoS and mobile PoS terminals. The antenna of these devices is typically located close to or behind a noisy display screen: the superior power and sensitivity of the PTX100R make it easier to design for reliable connectivity with FeliCa and NFC cards.

The new PTX100R evaluation board v1.4 for the Japanese market provides a full-featured platform for the development of new product designs, and is backed by comprehensive documentation, 24/7 access to a global technical support portal online, and a rich knowledge base of guides and advice online.

Mark Dickson, Chief Marketing Officer of Panthronics, said: 'The PTX100R's unique capabilities make it ideal for use in new designs which have a user-friendly display screen, such as PoS terminals and mobile devices. Now the FeliCa and MIC RF certifications for the PTX100R evaluation board will give our customers confidence that they can base new designs on the PTX100R, and bring them quickly and trouble-free to market in Japan.'

Engineers can buy the PTX100R NFC Reader evaluation board v1.4 for the Japanese market now from Arrow Electronics Japan and other authorised distributors.

The PTX100R IC is in mass production. 

About Panthronics

Founded in 2014, Panthronics AG (PTX) is an established semiconductor product company with over 50 staff headquartered in Graz, Austria. It develops differentiated wireless solutions from the ground up for security and power applications. Panthronics' website is at www.panthronics.com.