Near Field Communication Research Articles

A Bidirectional Wireless Power Transfer System with Integrated Near-Field Communication for E-Vehicles

This paper presents the design of a bidirectional wireless power and information transfer system. The wireless information transfer is based on near-field technology, utilizing communication coils integrated into power transfer coils. Compared with conventional far-field-based communication methods (e.g., Bluetooth and WLAN), the proposed near-field-based communication method provides a peer-to-peer feature, as well as lower latency, which enables the simple paring of a transmitter and a receiver for power transfer and the real-time updating of control parameters. Using the established communication, control parameters are transmitted from one side of the system to another side, and the co-control of the inverter and the active rectifier is realized. In addition, this work innovatively presents the communication-signal-based synchronization of an inverter and a rectifier, which requires no AC current sensing in the power path and no complex algorithm for stabilization, unlike conventional current-based synchronization methods. The proposed information and power transfer system was measured under different operating conditions, including aligned and misaligned positions, operating points with different charging powers, and forward and reverse power transfer. The results show that the presented prototype allows a bidirectional power transfer of up to 1.2 kW, and efficiency above 90% for the power ranges from 0.6 kW to 1.2 kW was obtained. Furthermore, the integrated communication is robust to the crosstalk from the power transfer and misalignment, and a zero BER (bit error rate) and ultra-low latency of 15.36 µs are achieved. The presented work thus provides a novel solution to the synchronization and real-time co-control of an active rectifier and an inverter in a wireless power transfer system, utilizing integrated near-field-based communication.

Battery-free, wireless, and electricity-driven soft swimmer for water quality and virus monitoring.

Miniaturized mobile electronic system is an effective candidate for in situ exploration of confined spaces. However, realizing such system still faces challenges in powering issue, untethered mobility, wireless data acquisition, sensing versatility, and integration in small scales. Here, we report a battery-free, wireless, and miniaturized soft electromagnetic swimmer (SES) electronic system that achieves multiple monitoring capability in confined water environments. Through radio frequency powering, the battery-free SES system demonstrates untethered motions in confined spaces with considerable moving speed under resonance. This system adopts soft electronic technologies to integrate thin multifunctional bio/chemical sensors and wireless data acquisition module, and performs real-time water quality and virus contamination detection with demonstrated promising limits of detection and high sensitivity. All sensing data are transmitted synchronously and displayed on a smartphone graphical user interface via near-field communication. Overall, this wireless smart system demonstrates broad potential for confined space exploration, ranging from pathogen detection to pollution investigation.

A mini-review of signal processing techniques for RIS-assisted near field THz communication

Reflecting Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) are reshaping the landscape of wireless communications, particularly in the terahertz (THz) frequency bands, offering promising solutions to inherent challenges in the bands. THz communication boasts bandwidths exceeding 100 GHz, leading to data rates potentially in the terabits per second (Tbps) range, thereby making it an attractive proposition for wireless communications, imaging, and sensing. However, benefits come with challenges, including significant molecular absorption, scattering, diffraction, and hardware limitations. Moreover, as bandwidth in the THz range increases, so does the difficulty of signal processing at Nyquist rate. RIS emerges as a game-changer for 6G and beyond by providing programmable reflecting elements that can adaptively modify the phases and amplitudes of incident signals, enabling precision in directing THz waves and enhancing received signal strength. Such capabilities can significantly mitigate path loss and atmospheric absorption challenges. Furthermore, inherent pencil beamforming capabilities of RIS lead to optimized energy utilization. Major challenge in THz communications is the pressing needs for efficient algorithms for robust THz transceivers and optimizing RIS elements. This review describes the integration of RIS and near-field THz communications, highlighting their future potential and challenges for the next-generation wireless networks. In this article, a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and nuances of near-field propagation in 6G networks, especially as the technology shifts towards extremely large-scale antenna arrays (ELAA). Additionally, it will introduce the transformative potential of sub-Nyquist rate signal processing and artificial intelligence (AI) offering innovative solutions to address the inherent challenges of 6G communication, especially in channel estimation and beamforming strategies.

Temperature-Dependent Electromagnetic Surface Wave Supported by Graphene-Loaded Indium Antimonide Planar Structure

In this study, the propagation characteristics of EM surface waves supported by the graphene-coated indium antimonide (InSb) planar waveguide have been investigated theoretically and numerically. The modeling of graphene has been performed by use of Kubo formalism whereas the relative permittivity of indium antimonide has been calculated using Drude’s model. The results for transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarized surface waves have been computed analytically and numerically. The major challenge is to model the atomically thick graphene sheet over the InSb grounded slab. To get the temperature-dependent characteristic equation for the electromagnetic surface waves, the surface current boundary conditions’ approach has been employed. The numerical results have been computed for both the TE and TM polarization states and reported that the TE does not support the propagation of surface waves. The dispersion relation, effective mode index, phase speed, propagation length, and field profile have been computed in Mathematica under TM polarization. The graphene and indium antimonide have been found active for low and high Terahertz regions, respectively. As temperature increases, the plasma frequency of the InSb increases due to this reason with the increase of temperature and the resonance frequency, leading to a shift in the dispersion curve. Moreover, with the increase of temperature, the effective wave number of transverse magnetic polarized surface waves also increases. Resultantly, the confinement of such surface waves supported by graphene-loaded InSb increases. It is shown that with the variation of temperature of indium antimonide, the surface waves propagating across the interface can be tuned in the Terahertz region and can be exploited for thermo-optical sensing, near-field communications waveguides, and graphene-based temperature sensor designing.

An NFC application for the process mapping automation for SMEs

In the past decade, the focus on Process Reengineering (PR) and innovation management has driven enterprises to explore how new technologies can reshape their business models and redefine their operational processes. Business Process Management, the visual display of physical process and IT flow, provide a structured approach to understanding, analyzing, and improving business processes, leading to increased efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. While small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in manufacturing economies, their limited technical and financial resources often hinder substantial investments in research and development (R&D). This research aims to address this challenge by providing SMEs with an affordable and user-friendly solution for automating business process mapping, calculating total process times, and determining phase durations without the need for external expertise. Through the utilization of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, a comprehensive toolkit consisting of IoT devices with NFC tags has been developed. This toolkit can be seamlessly integrated into the local area network of the company. Rigorous testing in a laboratory environment has demonstrated the solution effectiveness and its seamless integration into the production environment of SMEs. By empowering SMEs with this cost-effective solution, they can gain valuable insights of their processes. Furthermore, by facilitating the easy and rapid development of their own business process mapping, SMEs have the potential to pave the way for effective and efficient reengineering. This research bridges the gap between limited resources and the growing demand for technological and organizational innovation, as well as cost savings in SMEs. It offers a practical and accessible approach to enhancing productivity and competitiveness in the ever-evolving business landscape.

NFC-enabled photothermal-based microfluidic paper analytical device for glucose detection.

This study introduces the development of a photothermal-based microfluidic paper analytical device (PT-µPAD) integrated with near-field communication (NFC) technology and smartphone readout for enzyme-free glucose quantification in human samples. With the properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) both as a nanozyme and as a photothermal substrate, there is no need for costly reagents like enzymes or a readout instrumentation for the selective and sensitive detection of glucose. In PT-µPADs, AuNPs are etched by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generated from glucose catalysis. Photothermal detection from the plasmonic heating of these AuNPs when illuminated by a 533nm LED light source is achieved by inserting the PT-µPAD sensor into a portable NFC platform suitable for smartphone readout. Temperature variation is directly proportional to the glucose concentration. After optimization, we acquired a linear range between 5.0 and 20.0 µmol L-1 (R2 = 0.9967) and a limit of detection (LOD) of 25.0 nmol L-1 for glucose. Additionally, while our sensor does not utilize any enzyme, it is remarkably selective to glucose with no effects from interferences. Recovery studies in various human control samples indicated a range of 99.73-102.66% with the highest RSD of 3.53%, making it highly accurate and precise. Moreover, our method is more sensitive than other methods relying on conventional µPADs for glucose sensing. By integrating the potential benefits of microfluidics, nanomaterials as nanozymes, and NFC technology for wireless readout, our sensor demonstrates great promise as an accessible, affordable, and shelf-stable device for glucose quantification. Moreover, this concept can be extended to detect other molecules of interest as a point-of-care (POC) diagnostics device.

Integration of Near Field Communication (NFC) Antenna and Wireless Charging Coil for Portable Electronic Products

Integration of Near Field Communication (NFC) Antenna and Wireless Charging Coil for Portable Electronic Products

A Blockchain-Based Mutual Authentication Method to Secure the Electric Vehicles’ TPMS

Despite the widespread use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and wireless connectivity such as Near Field Communication (NFC) in electric vehicles, their security and privacy implications in Ad-Hoc networks have not been well explored. This paper provides a data protection assessment of radio frequency electronic system in the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). It is demonstrated that eavesdropping is completely feasible from a passing car, at an approximate distance up to 50 meters. Furthermore, our reverse analysis shows that the static <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">n</i> -bit signatures and messaging can be eavesdropped from a relatively far distance, raising privacy concerns as a vehicles' movements can be tracked by using the unique IDs of tire pressure sensors. Unfortunately, current protocols do not use authentication, and automobile technologies hardly follow routine message confirmation so sensor messages may be spoofed remotely. To improve the security of TPMS, we suggest a novel ultra-lightweight mutual authentication for the TPMS registry process in the automotive network. Our experimental results confirm the effectiveness and security of the proposed method in TPMS.

Revolutionizing Agriculture Libraries in India: A Comprehensive Study on Implementing Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology for Enhanced Access and Knowledge Sharing.

Revolutionizing Agriculture Libraries in India: A Comprehensive Study on Implementing Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology for Enhanced Access and Knowledge Sharing.

Progress in nanoparticle-based electrochemical biosensors for hormone detection.

Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate a wide range of physiological processes including metabolism, development, growth, reproduction and mood. The concentration of hormones that orchestrate the numerous bodily functions is very low (1 nM or less). Efforts have been made to develop highly sensitive tools to detect them. This review represents a critical comparison between different types of nanoparticle-based electrochemical biosensors for the detection of various hormones, namely cortisol, sex hormones (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone), insulin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and growth hormone (GH). The electrochemical biosensors investigated for each hormone are first divided on the basis of the biological fluid tested for their detection, and successively on the basis of the electrochemical transducer utilized in the device (voltammetric or impedimetric). Focus is placed on the nanoparticles employed and the successive electrode modification developed in order to improve detection sensitivity and specificity and biosensor stability. Limit of detection (LOD), linear range, reproducibility and possibility of regeneration for continuous reuse are also investigated and compared. The review also addresses the recent trends in the development of wearable biosensors and point-of-care testing for hormone detection in clinical diagnostics useful for endocrinology research, and the future perspectives regarding the integration of nanomaterials, microfluidics, near field communication (NFC) technology and portable devices.

Max-Min Secrecy Rate Optimization through Beam Focusing in Near-Field Communications

Max-Min Secrecy Rate Optimization through Beam Focusing in Near-Field Communications

Near-Field Communication With Random Frequency Diverse Array

Near-Field Communication With Random Frequency Diverse Array

Near-Field Communications: A Comprehensive Survey

Near-Field Communications: A Comprehensive Survey

RIS-aided Near-Field MIMO Communications: Codebook and Beam Training Design

RIS-aided Near-Field MIMO Communications: Codebook and Beam Training Design

Optimizing Near-Field XL-MIMO Communications: Advanced Feedback Framework for CSI

Optimizing Near-Field XL-MIMO Communications: Advanced Feedback Framework for CSI

Wideband Near-Field Integrated Sensing and Communication With Sparse Transceiver Design

Wideband Near-Field Integrated Sensing and Communication With Sparse Transceiver Design

Wavefront Hopping for Physical Layer Security in 6G and Beyond Near-Field THz Communications

Wavefront Hopping for Physical Layer Security in 6G and Beyond Near-Field THz Communications

A Tutorial On Near-Field XL-MIMO Communications Towards 6G

A Tutorial On Near-Field XL-MIMO Communications Towards 6G

Beamfocusing Optimization for Near-Field Wideband Multi-User Communications

Beamfocusing Optimization for Near-Field Wideband Multi-User Communications

Minimizing Vulnerable Region for Near-Field Covert Communication

Minimizing Vulnerable Region for Near-Field Covert Communication