Marvell 8897 NFC controllers
Near-field communication controller built into Marvell's 88W8897 combo radio chip, a Wi-Fi 5 plus Bluetooth plus NFC part used in embedded boards, set-top devices, and a handful of older laptops and tablets. The kernel code talks to it over USB, I2C, SPI, or UART depending on how the chip is wired up on a given board.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the silicon is still listed as Active by NXP (which absorbed Marvell's wireless line) and remains orderable from distributors like DigiKey in 2025, the driver received maintenance work as recently as March 2026, and there is no other in-tree driver that could take over its Marvell-specific NFC role. Real-world deployments are modest and mostly embedded or legacy, but removal would strand existing users for no benefit.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
Recent upstream work touched nfcmrvl in March 2026 ('nfc: nfcmrvl: convert to gpio descriptors'), indicating active maintenance rather than removal.
- nxp.com
NXP still lists 88W8897 as Active, showing the silicon family is still commercially live in 2025/2026.
- digikey.com
A distributor listing shows 88W8897 orderable with active part status and lead time, supporting continued new-sales availability.
- git.kernel.org
Kernel Kconfig documents nfcmrvl as the driver for Marvell NFC device 8897, tying the directory to that chipset family.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local source inspection shows a real multi-bus NFC driver (USB/I2C/SPI/UART) and Kconfig names Marvell NFC device 8897. `lore_file_timeline` on drivers/nfc/nfcmrvl/main.c returned March 2026 patch traffic with no removal signal; I cite the lore URL it returned directly. Web search returned NXP's current 88W8897 product page marked Active and a DigiKey listing marked Active/Available To Order, which together suggest the silicon is still sold new, but as an older niche combo-radio/NFC part rather than a mainstream new-platform choice. No natural upstream replacement exists for the Marvell-specific NFC function, so removal/deprecation is not supported by the evidence; deployments today are likely low and mostly embedded/legacy.