SiP for wirelessly connected designs enables more compact, cost-effective designs

Microchip has announced the SAM R30 SiP, a single-chip RF MCU which incorporates an ultra-low power microcontroller with an 802.15.4 sub-GHz radio to provide multi-year battery life in a compact 5mm package. The SiP delivers design flexibility and proven reliability all in a small package, making it ideally suited for connected home, smart city and industrial applications. As the demand for battery-powered wirelessly connected systems continues to rise, the low-power device meets the extremely power-conscious needs of these markets with features that extend battery life for multiple years. The SiP is built using the SAM L21 MCU which leverages the Cortex M0+ architecture, the most energy efficient ARM®-based architecture available. It features ultra-low power sleep modes, with wake from serial communication or General-Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) while consuming a mere 500nA. With the ability to operate within the 769-935MHz range, the SiP gives developers the flexibility to implement a point-to-point, star or mesh network. Microchip helps developers get started immediately with the free MiWi point-to-point/star network protocol stack. Mesh networking capabilities will be available later this year. Nodes outfitted with the SiP can be positioned as far as one kilometer apart, with the ability to double the range in a star topology. When used in a mesh network, the device delivers reliable wide-area coverage for applications such as street lighting or wind and solar farms. Developers can begin prototyping immediately with the ATSAMR30-XPRO development board. This convenient USB-interfaced development board is supported by the easy-to-use Atmel Studio 7 SDK.