Magnetic Card Reader | Cypress Semiconductor
Magnetic Card Reader
Block Diagram
Design Considerations
Magnetic Card Readers (also known as Magnetic Stripe Readers or MSRs) read data from a 3-track magnetic stripe via a peak detection circuit and process that data for downstream users. After extracting data from the magnetic stripe, it is converted to binary data and formatted for encryption.
PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 allow a scalable solution that enables 3-channel peak detection, data conversion and formatting, and encryption on a single chip. Integration into a single chip allows small form factor designs that can be put into the reader head assembly to improve security. PSoC's scalability also allows for optional capsense button pads and/or LCD displays.
Application Notes
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AN57821 introduces basic PCB layout practices to achieve 12- to 20-bit performance for the PSoC 3, PSoC 4, and PSoC 5LP family of devices.
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AN58304 provides an overview of the analog routing matrix in PSoC® 3 and PSoC 5LP. This matrix is used to interconnect analog blocks and GPIO pins. A good understanding of the analog routing and pin connections can help the designer make selections to achieve the best possible analog performance. Topics such as LCD and CapSense routing are not covered in this application note.
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AN58827 discusses how internal trace and switch resistance can affect the performance of a design and how these issues can be avoided by understanding a few basic details about the PSoC® 3 and PSoC 5LP internal analog architecture.
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This application note describes several techniques for implementing a peak detector in PSoC 3 and PSoC 5LP.
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AN60594 describes how to create a frequency shift keying (FSK) modulator and demodulator with PSoC® 3 or PSoC 5LP, with digital 0s represented by 2100 Hz, and digital 1s, represented by 1300 Hz.
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This application note describes how to configure the direct memory access (DMA) to buffer the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) data. It discusses how to overcome some of the limitations of the DMA when buffering the ADC data.
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Application Note AN86233 shows how to use the PSoC 4 low-power modes and features to operate at very low power levels while retaining essential functionality.
Development Kits/Boards
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The CY8CKIT-001 PSoC® Development Kit (DVK) provides a common development platform where you can prototype and evaluate different solutions using any one of the PSoC 1, PSoC 3, PSoC 4, or PSoC 5 architectures.
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This development kit is now obsolete.
Technical Articles
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A good Magnetic Card Reader requires reliable and accurate performance across a variety of different environments and card swipe speeds; regardless
Software and Drivers
- PSoC Creator
PSoC Creator is a state-of-the-art software development IDE combined with a revolutionary graphical design editor to form a uniquely powerful hardware/software co-design environment.
- PSoC Designer
PSoC Designer is the revolutionary Integrated Design Environment (IDE) that you can use to customize PSoC to meet your specific application requirements. PSoC Designer software accelerates system bring-up and time-to-market.