Infineon includes Bluetooth 5.5 in Airoc SoCs

The newly release Bluetooth 5.4 specification is integrated in Infineon’s Airoc CYW20829 Bluetooth LE SoC. According to Infineon, with the right combination of low power and high performance, Airoc CYW20829 is designed to support the entire spectrum of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) use cases including smart home, sensors, medical healthcare, lighting, Bluetooth Mesh networks, remote controls, human interface devices (mouse, keyboard, VR and gaming controllers), industrial automation and automotive designs.

CYW20829 is a dual-core Arm M33 device where one M33 core is reserved as the Bluetooth controller, and the second Arm Cortex-M33 is available for customer applications. The CPU subsystem provides 256k RAM, XIP interface for external flash, and a rich set of peripherals including CAN. Built-in security features include secure boot, secure execution environment, a TRNG, eFuse for custom keys and cryptography acceleration.

The recently released Bluetooth Core Specification 5.4 adds several significant capabilities to the existing specification, including PAwR (periodic advertising with response), encrypted advertisement data (EAD) and Le GATT security levels characteristic. PAwR enables energy-efficient, bi-directional communication in a large scale one-to-many or star topology. EAD provides a standardised approach to the secure broadcasting of data in advertising packets, advised Infineon.

With PAwR, thousands of Bluetooth 5.4-enabled electronic shelf labels (ESL) and sensors will have bidirectional communication with a single access point. Messages can contain commands, sensor data values or other data, as defined by the application layer. EAD enables the encrypted data over-the-star network to be authenticated and decrypted only by devices that have shared the session key previously. Additionally, LeGATT security levels characteristic enables devices to identify the security mode and level for GATT functionality. The combination of these features enable low power, efficient radio usage and secure star networks that can be deployed in large scale ESL and sensor applications.

“With Infineon’s AIROC CYW20829 Bluetooth LE SoC, our customers can achieve great RF performance, the latest Bluetooth features, built-in security, rich set of peripherals, and low power, all in one device,” said Shantanu Bhalerao, Vice President of the Bluetooth product line at Infineon. 

Airoc CYW20829 has best-in-class RF link budget, claimed Infineon, with an integrated power amplifier providing 10dBm of transmit output power and receive sensitivity of -98dBm for LE 1Mbits per second and -106dBm for LE Long Range 125kbits per second. 

The Airoc CYW20829 is supported by the ModusToolbox development environment which enables developers to accelerate time-to-market for Bluetooth-enabled IoT solutions.

The SoC is currently sampling to select customers.

http://www.infineon.com

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Low noise, high PSRR uModule regulator powers noise-sensitive applications

Patented silicon, layout and packaging contribute to the low noise, dual output DC/DC uModule regulator released by Analog Devices (ADI). The LTM8080 operates from up to 40V input.

The front-end is a high efficiency synchronous Silent Switcher step-down regulator followed by two separate low noise, low dropout (LDO) regulators. The packaging integrates an EMI barrier wall or shield, designed to further suppress switching noise, explained ADI. The company said that the result is exceptional low noise values of less than 1.0 microV RMS (10Hz to 100kHz), 2nV/√Hz (10kHz) spot noise, and 80dB PSRR (100kHz). Compared to discrete solutions without an EMI shield, the LTM8080 reduces output ripple voltage by up to 70 per cent for a simplified and quiet design. 

The LTM8080 is specifically designed to power digital loads that are susceptible to switching regulator noise such as data converters, RF transmitters, FPGA I/O and clock, op amps, transceivers and medical scanners. 

The LTM8080 µModule regulator’s integrated Silent Switcher architecture enables the device to pass CISPR22 Class B and CISPR25 Class 5 without an input filter. The adjustable switching frequency (200kHz to 2MHz) and selectable operation modes minimise the risk of frequency interference for very low noise instrumentation and high speed/high precision signal chain applications.

  The LTM8080 has a dual 500mA or single 1.0A output current with output voltages of 0 to 8.0V. The design includes a voltage tracking function to minimise power loss and features a 100 microA set pin current with ± one per cent. Initial accuracy can be paralleled for lower noise and higher current. 

Two versions are available and in full production now. The LTM8080EY#PBF and the LTM8080IY#PBF are both provided in a 9.0 x 6.25 x 3.25mm BGA.

http://www.analog.com

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NFC tag controller integrates sensing and energy-harvesting

NFC-based sensing controller, the NGC1081, has energy-harvesting capabilities and is the latest addition to Infineon Technologies portfolio of NFC tag-side controllers. 

The NGC1081 IC is a single chip designed to enable the IoT industry to develop low-cost, miniaturised, smart edge computing/sensing devices which can be controlled and powered by mobile phones. Potential applications range from medical patches and disposable point-of-case testers to data loggers, smart thermostats, and sensor inlays.

The tag-side controller supports a dual power supply function, allowing it to operate in a passive mode (battery-free) based on energy harvesting, or in a battery-powered mode in which it operates as a self-contained sensing node via a 3.0 to 3.3V external power supply. 

In passive mode, the entire sensing system, including the IC and its connected sensors, can draw power via energy harvesting from the NFC field of a mobile phone. The IC also has a naturally galvanically isolated sensing interface.

The NFC tag-side controller is based on a low-power Arm Cortex-M0 microcontroller and integrates an NFC front end which is compliant with the ISO14443 type-A standard. There is also a motor control driver that employs an H-bridge circuit with a current drive capability of up to 250mA. NGC1081 also features a sensing unit based on a 12-bit SAR ADC with four analogue inputs and a 10-bit DAC with one analogue output. The sensing unit also comprises an I2V converter and an integrated temperature sensor that provides an accuracy of ±0.3 degrees C over the temperature range of 0 to 45 degrees C and ±0.4 degrees C from -20 to 0 degrees C and 45 to 85 degrees C.

This integrated single-chip enables customers to implement smart sensing devices with miniaturised product design and reduced system bill of material costs, advised Infineon. The IC architecture and the hardware/software partitioning allow customers to create flexible software-defined functions.

Seamless connectivity to mobile phones allows developers to use a cloud-based business model, supported by a lean and scalable mailbox concept that ensures robust access management to maintain data integrity and security. Application-specific commands and messages from an open protocol interface can extend the protocol layer, added Infineon.

The NGC1081 NFC tag-side controller is available in a VQFN-32 package. 

http://www.infineon.com

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Wireless modules combine Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth and IEEE 802.15.4 LR-WPAN

Exploring new opportunities in wireless communication, Murata has developed the LBES5PL2EL module. It is, said the company, optimised to the demands of IoT hardware and anticipates the demand for Matter connectivity.

The LBES5PL2EL is based on a highly-integrated IW612 single chip 2.4 / 5.0GHz device from NXP, which covers a broad array of wireless protocols, allowing Murata to incorporate 1×1 dual-band Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), Bluetooth 5.3 and IEEE 802.15.4 into the Murata tri-radio module.

Bluetooth Low Energy Audio functionality has also been included with a view to its use in voice-controlled products. This latest generation of Bluetooth technology delivers heightened performance, while drawing less power, and is predicted to replace many of the current BR / EDR (basic rate / enhanced data rate) Bluetooth-based audio connections.

Murata has also introduced the LBEE5PL2DL module, based on the NXP IW611 device. It also features both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 support.

The wireless combination modules can be used in home automation equipment, digital assistants, smart domestic appliances, lighting gateways, climate control systems and EV charging points. FCC/IC and TELEC certification plus conductive tests for CE are all available, to assist in accelerating time to market, while keeping product development costs down.

The Murata LBES5PL2EL and LBEE5PL2DL wireless combo modules are each supplied in compact surface-mount packages, with dimensions of just 8.8 x 7.7 x 1.3mm.

“There are still only a few Matter-compliant solutions on the market, yet the potential for it to deliver convenience and comfort to the places in which we live is huge,” states Akira Sasaki, director of the communication module division at Murata. “Thanks to the introduction of the LBES5PL2EL, we are now able to provide full support for Matter, including Thread, alongside Wi-Fi 6. This will be a real value to engineers developing hardware for home/building automation, as well as for numerous other purposes.”

http://www.murata.com

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