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Renesas adds two Arm Cortex-M33 core MCUs to 32-bit RA family

Fri, Mar 17, 2023

The RA4E2 and RA6E2 MCUs deliver up to 200MHz in compact packages and offer rich peripheral options for sensing, gaming, wearables and appliances, said Renesas.

They are both based on the Arm Cortex-M33 core with Arm TrustZone technology. The 100MHz RA4E2 Group and 200MHz RA6E2 Group of MCUs are optimised to provide power efficiency, said Renesas. They are available in 128kbyte and 256kbyte flash options and 40kbytes of SRAM. Connectivity options are on-chip CAN FD, USB, QSPI, SSI and I³C interfaces. The MCUs offer an upgrade path to other members of the RA family.

The RA4E2 and the RA6E2 offer a cost-effective option with integrated CAN FD and space saving packages as small as a 4.0 x 4.0mm 36-pin BGA or a 5.0 x 5.0mm 32-pin QFN.

All RA devices are supported by the Renesas flexible software package (FSP) that includes efficient drivers and middleware to ease the implementation of communications and improve functionality of peripherals. The FSP’s GUI simplifies and accelerates the development process, said Renesas. It enables flexible use of legacy code as well as compatibility and scalability with other RA family devices. Designers using FSP also have access to the full Arm ecosystem as well as Renesas’ extensive partner network, offering a wide range of tools that help speed time-to-market.

The RA4E2 Group includes five different options, spanning from 32-pin to 64-pin packages as small as 4.0 x 4.0mm, and 128kbyte of flash memory along with 40kbyte of SRAM. The devices use just 82 microA / MHz while executing from flash at 100MHz. They have an extended operating temperature range of -40 to +105 degrees C.

The devices in the RA4E2 Group are based on a 100MHz Arm Cortex-M33 CPU core and can reduce system costs by virtue of the internal oscillator, general purpose I/O, advanced analogue, low voltage detection and internal reset function

The RA6E2 Group MCUs deliver 200MHz performance. Based on a 200MHz Arm Cortex-M33 CPU core, they also have low power operation ( 80 microA / MHz in active mode at 200MHz). The group includes 10 different parts, spanning from 32-pin to 64-pin packages as small as 4.0 x 4.0mm, and from 128kB to 256kbyte of flash memory along with 40kbyte of SRAM. Integrated communications options including USB 2.0 full-speed device, SCI, SPI, I³C, HDMI CEC, SSI, QSPI, and CAN FD and an integrated timer.

Renesas has designed a full Add-on Voice User Interface (VUI) using the RA6E2 MCU and other compatible devices from the Renesas portfolio. It can be added to devices such as smart thermostats or appliances.

All RA4E2 and RA6E2 MCUs are available today with separate evaluation kits and fast prototyping boards available for both MCU groups.

http://www.renesas.com

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Two IC families are for small form factor IoT devices

Wed, Mar 15, 2023

The xG27 family of Bluetooth SoCs and the BB50 microcontroller are designed for the smallest IoT devices, said Silicon Labs.

The xG27 and BB50 families range in size from 2mm² up to 5 mm². They offer IoT device designers energy efficiency, performance and security, and in the case of the xG27 family, wireless connectivity. Both families are suitable for tiny, battery-optimised devices like connected medical devices, wearables, asset monitoring tags, smart sensors, simple consumer electronics like toothbrushes and toys.

The ICs are intended to help developers build exciting new devices while also simplifying their development processes, all while maintaining the low-power and small form-factor requirements for extremely small devices,” said Matt Johnson, CEO.

The xG27 family of SoCs comprises the BG27, for Bluetooth connectivity, and the MG27, supporting Zigbee and other proprietary protocols. Built around the Arm Cortex M33 processor, the BG27 and MG27 are supplied in wafer-level chip scale packaging, down to 2.3 x 2.6mm, suitable for compact and unobtrusive devices like medical patches, continuous glucose monitors, wearable electrocardiograms, and asset tags in retail and agriculture.

The integrated DC/DC boost allows the devices to operate on batteries as low as 0.8V and the integrated coulomb counter is for battery level monitoring to avoid battery depletion during use.

Silicon Labs’ Secure Vault with virtual security engine (VSE) ensures secure boot and debug which are hardened against glitch attacks, tamper protection. There are also features designed to protect the device and its users’ data from local and remote cyber threats, said Silicon Labs.

They also have shelf mode, which reduces energy use to less than 20 nanoA so that devices can be transported and stocked on shelves while maintaining nearly full battery life for the end-user.

The BB50 8-bit microcontrollers have a high performance core, optimised for a large number of single cycle instructions to improve operating efficiency. They also have wide operating voltage ranges and low power modes to improve energy efficiency.

They operate with Silicon Labs’ Simplicity Studio and a fully-featured 8-bit compiler.

http://www.silabs.com

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Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth module extends battery life for the IoT

Tue, Mar 07, 2023

Extending the Infineon Airoc portfolio, the company has introduced the CYW43022 Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth module which extends battery life for IoT applications with up to 65 per cent power reduction.

The CYW43022 low power architecture results in up to a 65 per cent reduction in power usage during deep sleep mode, to extend the battery life for applications such as smart locks, smart wearables, IP cameras and thermostats.

Sivaram Trikutam, vice president of Wi-Fi product line at Infineon, said: “By optimising the sleep power for battery-operated IoT devices, consumers can now enjoy longer battery life compared to competing solutions. With the industry’s lowest power consumption for a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combination, [the CYW43022] enables more devices to be smarter, connected, and more versatile in a wide range of environments,” he added.

The Aitoc CYW43022 low power, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.3 device includes Wi-Fi network offloads and an embedded Bluetooth stack reducing power demands on host processors. To support designs with smaller antennas or designs that require longer reach, it includes a Class 1 Bluetooth power amplifier with +18dBm transmit power. To protect against hacker attacks, there is secure boot with firmware image authentication which requires signed Infineon firmware protects against hacker attacks.

Infineon’s Airoc wireless products, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combinations with a broad portfolio of high-performing, reliable, low power products that deliver robust industry-leading performance.

Airoc products leverage a common software framework across Android, Linux, RTOS platforms and are pre-integrated with Infineon’s ModusToolbox software and tools, allowing developers to deliver differentiated products to market on time and on budget.

Infineon’s Airoc CYW43022 low power, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth is available now. IT will be exhibited by Infineon at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany (14 to 16 March) Hall 4A-138.

http://www.infineon.com

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STMicroelectronics reveals single-chip antenna-matching ICs for easier, faster design with Bluetooth LE SoCs and microcontrollers

Tue, Feb 07, 2023

STMicroelectronics has extended its range of single-chip antenna-matching ICs that simplify RF-circuit design with two new devices optimised for BlueNRG-LPS system-on-chip ICs (SoCs) and STM32WB1x and STM32WB5x wireless microcontrollers.

The MLPF-NRG-01D3 for BlueNRG-LPS and MLPF-WB-02D3 for STM32WB integrate the complete filtering and impedance-matching network needed for best RF output power and receiver sensitivity with an external antenna. Each has 50Ohm nominal impedance on the antenna side. The chip-scale package has a minuscule footprint, 0.4mm bump pitch and a profile of only 630micro after reflow soldering. Also featuring a 2.4GHz low-pass filter, ST’s antenna-matching ICs ease compliance with worldwide radio regulations, including FCC, ETSI, and ARIB specifications.

The circuit elements are fabricated on a glass substrate leveraging ST’s integrated passive device (IPD) technology, which, the company claimed, minimises insertion losses and outperforms circuits built with discrete components. Integration on the same die is said to ensure consistent component parameters for end-product quality. In addition, ST’s IPDs help accelerate time to market, reduce bill-of-materials costs and miniaturise circuit dimensions.

The BlueNRG-LP and Blue NRG-LPS SoCs and STM32WB1x and STM32WB5x contain ST’s energy-efficient 2.4GHz radio IP and come with royalty-free protocol stacks and dedicated software tools. They help developers quickly design state-of-the-art wireless products, even without having extensive RF-design skills. Both provide on-chip features such as memory, peripherals, communication interfaces, power regulation and advanced hardware security including encryption, memory protection and public key acceleration (PKA).

BlueNRG-LPx SoCs can be used in standalone or network processor applications and support Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 features including point-to-point and mesh communications, advertising extensions and direction finding.

The MLPF-NRG-01D3 IPD is compatible with all variants, comprising the BLUENRG-3x5Vx, BLUENRG-3x5Ax and BLUENRG-332xx in UFQFPN and WLCSP packages.

The STM32WB5x and STM32WB1x MCUs are Bluetooth 5.3, Zigbee 3.0 and OpenThread certified and feature an Arm Cortex-M4 core for application processing with a Cortex-M0+ dedicated to managing the radio. They are available in WLCSP and UFBGA packages that connect directly to the MLPF-WB-02D3 IPD. A different IPD is available for other MCU variants in UQFN and VQFN packages.

The MLPF-NRG-01D3 and MLPF-WB-02D3 single-chip antenna-matching ICs are available from $0.14 for orders of 1,000 pieces.

https://www.st.com/

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Renesas adds two Arm Cortex-M33 core MCUs to 32-bit RA family

Two IC families are for small form factor IoT devices

Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth module extends battery life for the IoT

STMicroelectronics reveals single-chip antenna-matching ICs for easier, faster design with Bluetooth LE SoCs and microcontrollers

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