ICs & Semiconductors

Texas Instruments makes Wi-Fi technology more robust and affordable for connected IoT applications 

Wed, Apr 19, 2023

Texas Instruments (TI)  has introduced a SimpleLink family of Wi-Fi 6 companion integrated circuits (ICs) to help designers implement reliable, secure and efficient Wi-Fi connections at an affordable price for applications that operate in high-density or high-temperature environments up to 105 degrees C.

The first products in TI’s CC33xx family include devices for Wi-Fi 6 only or for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 connectivity in a single IC. When attached to a microcontroller (MCU) or processor, the CC33xx devices are said to enable a secure Internet of Things (IoT) connection with reliable radio-frequency (RF) performance in broad industrial markets such as grid infrastructure, medical and building automation. 

Building on TI’s growing wireless connectivity portfolio, the SimpleLink CC3300 Wi-Fi 6 companion IC and CC3301 Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 companion IC start at US$1.60. The 2.4-GHz CC33xx devices are claimed to provide greater Wi-Fi network efficiency and a stable connection across more than 230 access points, while operating at temperatures from –40 degrees C to 105 degrees C. The devices also allow designers to connect their IoT edge nodes directly to home or enterprise access points without additional equipment.

The Wi-Fi 6 companion devices feature orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology and basic service set (BSS) colouring to deliver fast and consistent network performance and connect more devices simultaneously, without interference from congestion. The devices support Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security features, including the latest WPA3 cryptographic technologies for personal and enterprise networks and a secure boot feature with firmware authentication.

SimpleLink CC3300 and CC3301 Wi-Fi 6 companion ICs easily attach to TI and many other companies’ MCUs and processors that support Linux or real-time operating systems (RTOS). For example, CC33xx products easily attach to artificial intelligence (AI)-capable processors such as TI’s AM62A Arm Cortex-based vision processors, used in edge AI applications such as smart appliances and security cameras to reliably connect smart Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the cloud.

Industrial design engineers can incorporate TI’s CC3300 with host MCUs such as TI’s 2.4-GHz CC2652R7 SimpleLink multiprotocol wireless MCU or an AM243x MCU-hosted system to enable greater IoT flexibility with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE 5.3, Thread, Zigbee 3.0 and Matter protocols.

Samples of the CC33xx companion ICs are available in a quad flat no-lead (QFN) package and start at US$1.60 in 1,000-unit quantities. A new, easy-to-use BP-CC3301 evaluation board is available for purchase for US$39. Volume production for the CC3300 and CC3301 is expected in the fourth quarter of 2023. TI is also developing pin-to-pin compatible, dual-band 2.4- and 5-GHz Wi-Fi 6 devices that will be available as samples later this year.

https://www.TI.com

> Read More

Customisable RISC-V IP cores is fully customisable, says Semidynamics 

Tue, Apr 18, 2023

Claimed to be the first fully customisable 64-bit RISC-V family of cores to be able to handle the large amounts of data required for AI, machine learning and high performance computing (HPC), cores released by Semidynamics are process agnostic. Versions are available down to 5nm.

Customers can control the configuration, said Semidynamics, rather than having, configurations fixed by the vendor or with a limited number of configurable options such as cache size, address bus size, interfaces and a few other control parameters. The IP cores available from Semidynamics enable the customer to have control over the configuration, in terms of new instructions, separate address spaces or new memory accessing capabilities . “This means that we can precisely tailor a core to meet each project’s needs so there are no unrequired overheads or compromises,” said Roger Espasa, CEO and founder of Semidynamics. “Even more importantly, we can implement a customer’s ‘secret sauce’ features into the RTL in a matter of weeks,” he added. 

The first core, the Atrevido, is available for licensing now. It has out-of-order scheduling that is combined with the company’s proprietary Gazzillion technology. The core can handle highly sparse data with long latencies and with high bandwidth memory systems, typically found in today’s machine learning applications. According to Semidynamics, Gazzillion technology removes the latency issues that can occur when using CXL technology to enable far away memory to be accessed at supercharged rates.

The Gazzillion technology is specifically designed for recommendation systems that are a key part of data centre machine learning processes. By supporting over a hundred misses per core, an SoC design can deliver sparse data to the compute engines without a large silicon investment. In addition, the core can be configured from two- for four-way versions to help accelerate the not-so-parallel portions of recommendation systems.

For the most demanding workloads, such as HPC, the Atrevido core supports large memory capacities with its 64-bit native data path and 48-bit physical address paths. According to Espasa, these are the fastest cores on the market for moving large amounts of data with a cache line per clock at high frequencies “even when the data does not fit in the cache. And we can do that at frequencies up to 2.4Hz on the right node” making them suitable for applications streaming a lot of data and/or if the application touches very large data that does not fit in cache. Competing core IPs average one cache line over many cycles, he added.

MMU support means Atrevido is also Linux-ready including supporting cache-coherent, multi-processing environments from two to hundreds of cores. It is vector ready, supporting both the RISC-V Vector Specification 1.0 as well as the upcoming Semidynamics Open Vector interface. Vector instructions densely encode large numbers of computations to reduce the energy used by each operation. Vector Gather instructions support sparse tensor weights efficiently to help with machine learning workloads.

Espasa concluded, “No-one else has such a complex RISC-V core that can be totally configured to perfectly meet the specific needs of each project rather than having to use an off-the-shelf core and compromise.”

http://www.semidynamics.com

> Read More

Chipset for 5G mobile devices is latest member of Semtech PerSe family

Fri, Apr 14, 2023

Semtech has expanded its PerSe product portfolio with the PerSe Connect SX9376 IC which is purpose built for 5G mobile devices. 

Semtech’s PerSe technology senses human proximity and enables end devices such as smartphones to implement radio frequency (RF) control. The PerSe Connect SX9376 enables designers to optimise RF performance, enhance connectivity and support elevated compliance with global specific absorption rate (SAR) standards for 5G-enabled consumer devices.

Semtech’s PerSe intelligent sensors are used in the connected device market. They enable automatic adjustment of system level RF emissions in connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, hotspots and laptops for them to operate at peak performance while maintaining compliance, explained Semtech. 

By 2030, the global 5G market is expected to grow at a 47.6 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) with a market valuation of $198.44 billion. To bring these 5G-enabled products to market, OEMs must add more RF antennas into the design to address the frequency increase. The additional antennas can make it challenging for OEMs to address global SAR compliance and accurately manage the device’s RF power, explained Semtech. The SX9376 has a maximum of eight sensor inputs to support multiple antennas and simplify the sensor design without compromising performance and regulation. The chipset is also compatible with various antenna designs, making it easy to integrate into the latest 5G mobile devices, explained Semtech. 

Semtech PerSe Connect 9376’s sensing performance is enabled by a high-resolution analogue front end (AFE) down to 0.74aF. It can support antenna designs with up to 600pF capacitance and is robust with advanced temperature correction to minimise false triggers caused by noise and temperature. 

http://www.Semtech.com 

> Read More

Rutronik offers Wi-Fi 6 seamless connectivity with Nordic’s nRF7002 

Fri, Apr 14, 2023

Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF7002 is a companion IC for integrating seamless Wi-Fi 6 connectivity into a range of applications. It is a cost-effective and power-saving option, said Rutronik, with high speed, improved range and the reliability of the latest Wi-Fi standard. 

The IC operates on both the 2.4 GHz and 5.0GHz Wi-Fi bands, offering a range of options for connecting to networks. The nRF7002 equips products with the latest Wi-Fi 6 technologies, making it suitable for use in medical or inventory tracking applications. Its low power consumption makes it particularly interesting for use in battery-powered wireless products, added Rutronik. 

The nRF7002 is designed to be used in conjunction with the nRF Connect software development kit (SDK). The platform has a number of tools and libraries for developing applications for which the nRF7002 is the optimal choice.

The nRF7002 complies with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax- and has a 20MHz channel bandwidth with 64 QAM (MCS7) and 86Mbits per second PHY throughput.

The companion IC is currently unique in this form in the Nordic portfolio and can be combined with the company’s ultra low power technologies. It is also compatible with Nordic’s existing nRF52 and nRF53 series Bluetooth SoCs and nRF91 series cellular IoT systems in package (SiPs). As a result, Nordic’s Wi-Fi 6 companion IC nRF7002 is suitable for a wide range of applications, for example in smart cities, smart agriculture, smart home, wearables and medical devices. 

The nRF7002 from Nordic Semiconductor is available from the distributor, Rutronik.

Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente was founded in 1973 and is an independent family-owned company based in Ispringen, Germany. It claims to be one of the world’s leading broadline distributors. It has more than 80 offices worldwide and logistics centres in Austin (Texas), Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong to offer comprehensive customer support in Europe, Asia, and North America.

The company focuses on advanced materials, advanced measurement, processing and analytics, advanced robotics, automation, biotechnology, energy and power, future mobility, IIoT and internet of everything, industry 4.0, medical and healthcare, and transportation, logistics and supply chain. 

The company also offers customised logistics systems, reliable supply chain management, and logistics centres worldwide to ensure on-time delivery. The Rutronik24 e-commerce platform completes Rutronik’s range of services. 

http://www.rutronik.com

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration