Positive ONE GroupNFC, EMV and magnetic stripe testing Level 1 — RF and protocol ProxiLAB Quest

Level 1 · RF and protocol

ProxiLAB Quest

Name: ProxiLAB Quest
Brand: KEOLABS

A contactless tester with fully configurable reader and card signal emulation across NFC, ISO/IEC 14443, FeliCa and ISO/IEC 15693. VHBR support, 8-80 MHz VNA.

Vendor: Keolabs Specifications ISO/IEC 14443 A/B/B' · 15693 · NFC · FeliCa · VHBR Tester platform

**ProxiLAB Quest unit** A single unit combining high-precision arbitrary waveform generation, I/Q demodulation and a VNA for contactless testing.

**Front connectors** Reference antennas and probes are connected here.

**Rear connectors** Connections for an oscilloscope, the network and power.

**A typical test bench setup** A reference PCD assembly and its fixture, the unit, a power amplifier and an oscilloscope are connected. The execution log and the waveform are watched together during the test.

**Setup with robotic position scanning** Certification testing measures at varying positions and distances. The robot performs the scan so the same conditions can be reproduced repeatedly.

**Resonance frequency and Q factor measured with the VNA** The resonance of a card or antenna is found by sweeping and can be checked together with the Smith chart.

**PCD waveform analysis** Rise and fall times and overshoot are checked against the limits defined by the standards.

**PICC load modulation (LMA) analysis** Sideband amplitude is measured while sweeping the field strength, to see whether it meets the lower limit of the standards.

**Card EMD profiling** Where electromagnetic disturbance occurs and how large it is can be reviewed for each field strength.

**Shmoo plot** Field strength and modulation index are swept exhaustively so the pass/fail boundary can be seen as an area.

**Card performance analysis** Processing time and transaction time are tracked against field strength to find the lower limit of operation.

**Initial field (Hinit) measurement** Finds the smallest field strength at which the card starts to respond.

**Simultaneous digital and analog trace** The command sequence and the waveform share one time axis, so the response where the fault appears can be identified.

**Automation with scripts** The command list and its documentation are available while writing, so repeated tests are automated as they are.

The test bench as a whole

A test bench has four elements: software, tester, fixtures and the device under test. This shows where the product sits.

STEP 1 — test programmeSpecification test suite (execution environment: SCRIPTIS™)Test programmes for each specification run on SCRIPTIS™. Delivery form and licence configuration are confirmed per quotation. During a run, prompts appear for placing the device under test and changing fixtures.

STEP 2 — tester platformProxiLAB Quest and similarThe hardware that generates and measures signals, emulating a card or a reader

STEP 3 — fixtures and automationReference antennas, probes and robotsThe reference fixtures defined by the specification must be connected. Without them the suite cannot run. A robot automates position sweeps

STEP 4 — device under testDevice under test: card, terminal or mobile deviceThe product under development, whose conformance and interoperability are being verified

What it does

A contactless tester with fully configurable reader and card signal emulation across NFC, ISO/IEC 14443, FeliCa and ISO/IEC 15693. VHBR support, 8-80 MHz VNA.

Platform capabilities

The core platform for contactless testing, emulating both reader and card signals with full configurability.

Signal emulation

Fully configurable emulation of both reader (PCD) and card (PICC) signals

VHBR support

ASK

VNA included as standard

8–80 MHz vector network analyser

Test suite platform

The hardware core for the EMVCo, NFC Forum, ISO and ICAO test suites

Example test configuration and licences

This licence structure is published by the manufacturer. Current SKUs, the hardware options required and specification versions are confirmed at quotation.

Example test configuration and licences
Category	Licence	Detail
Hardware platform	SC-ProxiLAB-HW-Quest (with VNA)	The hardware platform, supporting resonance frequency and Q factor measurement
Card testing / analogue	SC-PROXILAB-QUEST-PCD-ANA	Analogue control of the PCD signal when testing a PICC
Card testing / digital	SC-ProxiLAB-Quest-PCD-DIG	Emulates an ISO/IEC 14443 A/B PCD to test a PICC
Card testing / NFC	SC-ProxiLAB-Quest-PCD-NFC	PCD emulation for NFC-IP1 and IP2, ISO/IEC 15693 and FeliCa
Card testing / VHBR	SC-ProxiLAB-Quest-PCD-VHBR-ASK	PICC testing with VHBR ASK
Card testing / EMD	SC-ProxiLAB-Quest-PICC-EMD-ANALYSER	Analysis of card EMD, that is chip noise
Reader testing / analogue	SC-ProxiLAB-Quest-PICC-ANA	Analogue control of the PICC signal when testing a PCD or NFC device
Reader testing / digital	SC-ProxiLAB-Quest-PICC-DIG	Emulates an ISO/IEC 14443 A/B PICC to test a PCD
Reader testing / ALM	SC-ProxiLAB-Quest-PICC-ALM	Phase drift immunity analysis between reader and mobile device

Which functions are actually available depends on the hardware configuration and the licences, so we first establish the role of the device under test — PICC or PCD — and the test scope.

Technical characteristics

Technical characteristics
Main functions	High-precision arbitrary waveform generation (AWG); advanced I/Q demodulation; a 20 dBm vector network analyser (VNA: 8–80 MHz, −30 to +20 dBm, measuring resonance frequency, Q factor and complex impedance); and pre-equaliser filtering
What can be verified	Protocol conformance verification; characterisation; card and reader waveform analysis; card EMD profiling; true-waveform replay; and resonance frequency and Q factor evaluation
Supported protocols	ISO 14443 (A/B/B') / MIFARE™/VHBR (ASK) /ISO 15693 / 18000-3/FeliCa™ (JIS X 6319) /NFC-IP1 / -IP2 (ISO/IEC 18092 / ECMA 340)
Hardware interface	USB; 3 general-purpose I/O; 2 expansion HDMI; 2 analogue inputs; 2 RF outputs

Where it is used

Setting up Level 1 verification for a new development
Regression after a configuration change or update
Coverage checks ahead of certification

Relationship to certification

What this product performs is conformance testing. Formal type approval is carried out by an accredited test laboratory, and the Letter of Approval is issued by EMVCo or the payment system. What we supply is the test environment and support in operating it.