Richardson RFPD selects Microchip IoT devices
Distributor Richardson RFPD has added part of Microchip’s wireless products for IoT applications to its linecard. They include LoRa modules, Wi-Fi modules and 802.15.4 chips.
The modules and devices are available for smart, connected and secure designs for IoT applications and Richardson RFPD also offers full design support capabilities.
The additions include Microchip’s ATSAMR34 and ATSAMR35. These are integrated LoRa system-in-package (SiP) devices and are supplied in a compact 6.0 x 6.0mm BGA package. The SAM R34 and SAM R35 devices includes an integrated, low power 32-bit ARM Cortex M0+ and a UHF transceiver that supports LoRa and FSK modulation. There is 256kbyte of flash and 40kbyte of RAM to support application code and stack. The SAM R34 includes a full-speed USB interface, making it suitable for USB dongle applications or for software updates via USB. The SAM R35 offers the same functions without the USB interface. The embedded LoRaWAN Class A and Class C protocol enables seamless connectivity to any LoRaWAN-compliant network infrastructure, whether public or privately deployed. The SAM R34 SAM R35 low-power performance and radio and peripheral features make them suitable for long-range applications where longevity of battery life is of paramount importance.
The distributor also offers the ATWINC1500 and ATWINC1510 low power-consumption 802.11 b/g/n IoT Wi-Fi modules. These single-band 2.4GHz IoT network controller modules feature a fully integrated power amplifier, low noise amplifier, switch and power management. The ATWINC1500 has 4Mbyte of flash memory, which is used for firmware (FW) storage, including support for over the air (OTA) FW update. The ATWIN1510, with 8Mbyte of flash, supports the storing of additional software images (up to 512kbyte) for the host microcontroller.
Applications requiring both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can use the ATWINC3400 802.11 b/g/n plus Bluetooth 5 Core Specification network controller module. It offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) network capabilities through an SPI-to-Wi-Fi and BLE interface. The ATWIN3400-STK is a hardware platform that includes a host microcontroller and temperature sensor to evaluate the WINC3400-MR210CA module.
Completing the portfolio is the ATSAMR21 and ATSAMR30, 802.15.4-compliant single chips that combine an Arm Cortex-M0+ based 32-bit microcontroller and 2.4GHz (ATSAMR21) or sub-GHz (ATSAMR30) RF transceivers. The ATSAMR21 has a link budget of 103dBm, while consuming 50 per cent less active current than existing offerings, says Richardson. The ATSAMR30 offers 256kbyte of flash and 40kbyte of SRAM (8kbyte battery-backed) in as small as a 5 mm QFN32 package. Advanced power management technologies include power domain gating, SleepWalkin and low-power peripherals.