ISO/IEC 14443 vs. ISO/IEC 15693
Comparing 2 standards across 13 specifications. 12 key differences identified.
ISO/IEC 14443 is the international standard governing contactless Proximity Integrated Circuit Cards (PICC) and Proximity Coupling Devices (PCD) operating at 13.56 MHz over distances up to 10 cm. It defines two distinct physical and framing architectures—Type A and Type B—and forms the foundation of EMV contactless payment cards and ICAO biometric ePassports.
ISO/IEC 15693 (NFC Forum Type 5) is an international standard for High-Frequency (13.56 MHz) Vicinity Integrated Circuit Cards (VICC). Engineered with relaxed power requirements and highly sensitive subcarrier modulation, it achieves read ranges up to 1 to 1.5 meters, making it the standard for library item tracking, ski resort passes, and pharmaceutical logistics.
Specification Comparison Table
13 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Frequency Bands
|
13.56 MHz | 13.56 MHz |
|
Standard Parts
|
Part 1 (Physical), Part 2 (RF/Signal), Part 3 (Initialization/Anticollision), Part 4 (T=CL Protocol) | — |
|
Nominal Operating Range
|
Up to 10 cm | — |
|
Data Transfer Rates
|
106, 212, 424, and 848 kbps | — |
|
Type A Modulation
|
100% ASK with Modified Miller Coding | — |
|
Type B Modulation
|
10% ASK with NRZ Coding | — |
|
Primary Applications
|
EMV contactless credit cards, biometric ePassports (ICAO 9303), national eID cards | — |
|
Operating Distance
|
— | Up to 1.0 to 1.5 m (Vicinity range) |
|
NFC Forum Classification
|
— | Type 5 Tag |
|
Data Rates (Downlink)
|
— | 26.48 kbps (High data rate) / 1.65 kbps (Low rate) |
|
Downlink Modulation
|
— | 100% or 10%–30% ASK (1-out-of-4 or 1-out-of-256 pulse position coding) |
|
Uplink Modulation
|
— | Manchester coding on 423.75 kHz single or dual subcarriers |
|
Prominent Silicon Families
|
— | NXP ICODE, STMicroelectronics ST25TV, Texas Instruments Tag-it |