Contactless standard
ISO/IEC 14443 proximity card testing
ISO/IEC 14443 is the foundation of contactless — the 13.56 MHz proximity standard behind payment cards, transit, eID and access. Almost every NFC and EMV® contactless product builds on it.
What is ISO/IEC 14443?
ISO/IEC 14443 defines proximity contactless cards and readers operating at 13.56 MHz over a range of a few centimetres. Its parts cover the physical characteristics, the RF power and signal interface, anticollision and initialisation, and the transmission protocol.
It defines two signalling families — Type A and Type B — which differ in modulation and bit coding. Both are widely deployed; a reader typically supports both.
Type A vs Type B
- Type A — 100% ASK modulation, modified Miller coding (reader to card); load modulation with Manchester coding (card to reader)
- Type B — 10% ASK modulation, NRZ coding and a continuous field that simplifies timing
How ISO 14443 is tested
The conformance test methods for ISO 14443 are defined in ISO/IEC 10373-6, which specifies the reference PICC and PCD assemblies, the calibration coils, and the analog and digital measurements — field strength, load modulation amplitude, timing and protocol.
Test it with cilab
Test ISO 14443 A and B, PCD and PICC
The ci230 runs ISO/IEC 14443 Type A and B testing for both PCD and PICC using the ISO 10373-6 methods — absolute analog with margin to the limits, plus the decoded protocol from a single test antenna. cilab also supplies the ISO 10373-6 reference antennas with accredited calibration.
Explore the ci230Frequently asked
Is ISO 14443 the same as NFC?
Not exactly. NFC builds on ISO 14443 (and other standards). ISO 14443 defines the proximity card RF and protocol; NFC adds peer-to-peer and tag modes on top. At the RF layer, an NFC reader is an ISO 14443 reader.
What is the difference between Type A and Type B?
They use different modulation and coding. Type A uses 100% ASK with modified Miller coding; Type B uses 10% ASK with NRZ coding and a continuous field. Both operate at 13.56 MHz.
What standard defines the ISO 14443 test methods?
ISO/IEC 10373-6 defines how to test ISO 14443 — the reference assemblies, calibration and the analog/digital measurements.
Related standards
ISO/IEC 10373-6 contactless test methods
ISO/IEC 10373-6 is the 'how to test' standard for contactless proximity cards. It defines the reference equipment and measurement methods that EMV® and NFC Forum analog test plans build on.
Payment certificationEMV® Level 1 contact & contactless testing
EMV® Level 1 is the physical and protocol layer of payment — the analog and low-level digital behaviour every payment card, terminal and phone must pass before type approval, on both the contact (ISO 7816) and contactless (RF) interfaces.
Contactless standardISO/IEC 15693 vicinity card testing
ISO/IEC 15693 is the vicinity contactless standard — 13.56 MHz like ISO 14443, but designed for a longer read range, used in library, asset-tracking and some access applications.
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See how cilab runs ISO/IEC 14443 on your bench — book a demo with one of our engineers.
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