Broadcom Corporation introduced two new Near Field Communication solutions to be showcased at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company announced a quad-combo to integrate certified NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and FM onto a single chip. Broadcom also announced a single card solution combining its 5G WiFi combo chip with its standalone NFC.

Broadcom is preparing for NFC’s expansion into broader consumer electronics devices like game controllers, TVs and remotes, computer keyboards and mice, headsets, printers and more. For example, NFC will enable consumers to instantly show video taken from a smart phone on a smart TV by tapping the devices together. It will also enable consumers to tap-to-print and tap-to-share data like a music playlist or a business card.

As Broadcom’s sixth generation combo chip, the BCM43341 offers OEMs unmatched size, power and cost advantages. The quad-combo chip also provides an interface with multiple secure elements to ensure all payment business models are supported for today’s market. Additionally, Broadcom’s standards-based software stack implements NFC Forum specifications, including NFC Controller interface, to support multiple operating systems.

It also includes:

• Integration of NFC, WLAN, Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio and wireless coexistence on a single chip for reduced radio interference and simplified connectivity
• 40nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process with improvements in size and power consumption
• Supports dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) WLAN including support for HT40 (high throughput 40MHz rates)
• Integrated WLAN/BT PA, LNA and TR switch to reduce total area and bill of materials (BOM) costs
• Integrated support for Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Certified Miracast and Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint technologies
• Designed for low-cost printed circuit board (PCB) chip-on-board applications
• Field power harvesting capability to enable device to support NFC transactions even if battery has expired

While the quad-combo will drive adoption in mass-market devices, the single solution on a card integrates the 5G WiFi combo chip with the BCM20793 NFC chip. The single solution on a card joins tap-to-pair functionality and NFC with speed, coverage and performance benefits of 5G WiFi to create a platform for mobile devices. For example, high throughput, high-definition video transfers using 5G WiFi will be significantly enhanced with NFC’s simplified functionality.

Broadcom’s quad-combo chip and single card solution are now sampling with early access customers, with full production expected in Q1 2013.