Side-by-Side Comparison
Smart Cards & RFID
EM4100 & T5577 vs. NFC Forum Tag Types
Comparing 2 standards across 12 specifications. 12 key differences identified.
Comparing:
EM4100 & T5577
NFC Forum Tag Types
EM4100 and T5577 represent the foundational low-frequency (LF, 125 kHz) RFID transponder ecosystem. The EM4100 (EM-Marin) is a factory-programmed, 64-bit read-only identity chip, while the Atmel/Microchip T5577 is a rewritable EEPROM transponder used to emulate and clone various 125 kHz LF protocols.
NFC Forum Tag Types (Types 1 through 5) are standardized memory and communication specifications established by the NFC Forum, operating at 13.56 MHz. They define how data is formatted in NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) across underlying ISO/IEC 14443 Type A/B, FeliCa, and ISO/IEC 15693 radio architectures.
Specification Comparison Table
12 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Frequency Bands
|
100 to 150 kHz (125 kHz nominal) | 13.56 MHz |
|
EM4100 Memory Structure
|
64 bits (9 header bits, 40 customer/ID bits, 15 parity/stop bits) | — |
|
T5577 Memory Capacity
|
330 bits (10 blocks of 33 bits EEPROM) | — |
|
Modulation Schemes Supported
|
Manchester, Biphase, FSK, PSK | — |
|
Data Rates (Typical)
|
RF/64, RF/32, RF/16 clock divisors | — |
|
Cryptographic Protection
|
None (Plaintext transmission) | — |
|
Data Format Standard
|
— | NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) |
|
Type 1 Baseline
|
— | Innovision Topaz (ISO 14443-A, 106 kbps, 96B–2KB) |
|
Type 2 Baseline
|
— | NXP NTAG / MIFARE Ultralight (ISO 14443-A, 106 kbps, 48B–2KB) |
|
Type 3 Baseline
|
— | Sony FeliCa Lite (JIS X 6319-4, 212/424 kbps, up to 1MB) |
|
Type 4 Baseline
|
— | ISO/IEC 14443 Type A & B T=CL (106–848 kbps, up to 32KB) |
|
Type 5 Baseline
|
— | ISO/IEC 15693 Vicinity (26.48 kbps, up to 64KB) |