NXP makes IoT prototyping easier with Abracon ICs

By Brian Santo, contributing writer

NXP Semiconductors has added a set of timing and connectivity components from Abracon LLC to its NXP Rapid IoT Prototyping Kit. The Abracon parts should make it easier and faster for engineers to create products for the internet of things (IoT).

The NXP kit includes an ARM-based Kinetis K64 microcontroller (MCU), NXP’s KW41Z lower-power RF IC (for BLE, Thread, and Zigbee), various sensors, and other components. Abracon’s contributions to the NXP kit include ICs for timing and RF and near-field communications (NFC) antennas.

The products were selected to match the needs of NXP’s MCU and RF/SoC chipsets. IoT devices have grown in complexity with more advanced computation, sensing, and enhanced connectivity/RF requirements that include sophisticated hardware, firmware, and software development, said Abracon.

Crystal-based timing devices must be carefully matched with MCUs, Abracon’s director of marketing, Juan Conchas, told Electronic Products. The same is not necessarily true of NFC ICs, but it certainly is the case for RF components, he added.

When the parts are already matched (as the Abracon components are), engineers spend less time on troubleshooting, allowing them to prototype rapidly and move quickly into writing software. Using the reference designs in NXP’s kit and relying on the components included, “you could even go straight to market,” said Conchas.

Sid Shaw, senior director, global sales and marketing for NXP Semiconductors, said in a statement, “Regardless of background or skill level, innovators can take advantage of the kit to quickly develop sensor-to-cloud solution prototypes as easy as 1-2-3.”

The bill of materials for this kit calls out six Abracon components including four quartz crystals, a chip antenna, and an NFC antenna. Specifically, they are:

• The ABM11W-101-32.0000MHZ-T3 low ESR crystal, supporting NXP’s RF IC in the kit
• The ABM8G-106-12.000MHZ-T crystal, supporting NXP’s main MCU in the kit
• The ABS06-127-32.768kHz-T crystal, supporting the RF IC
• The ABS07-166-32.768KHZ-T crystal, supporting the real-time clock
• The AMCA31-101-2R450G-S1F-T3 chip antenna, supporting the RF IC
• The ANFCA-101-2515-A02 NFC antenna

All of them are designed to be as compact and as small as possible, said Conchas, and all are rated for industrial applications.

All Abracon part numbers are in stock and available now. Prices range from roughly $0.30 to about $1.80 for the different parts. Volume pricing is available. Ordering information through distribution is available here.