By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief
Insight SiP, a specialist in ultra-miniature RF modules, has introduced the ISP1807-LR module, touted as the first fully Bluetooth 5.0 long-range compliant RF module in a miniature SIP package. Housed in an 8 × 8 × 1-mm footprint, the miniature BLE module is based on Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840 chip. It provides a Bluetooth 5 stack including long range, high throughput, advertising extensions, and improved coexistence along with IPv6 connectivity and mesh capabilities, making the module well-suited as a hub for IoT solutions.
The ISP1807-LR module targets IoT solutions that require complex applications, fast processing, and/or best-in-class power consumption, according to Insight SiP. These include advanced wearables, smart-home and industrial sensors, advanced remote controls, gaming controllers and beacons.
The BLE smart module also integrates 32-MHz/32-KHz crystals, RF antenna and matching circuit, and DC-DC converter, delivering power-saving efficiency. Thanks to an M4 floating-point processor, the ISP1807-LR can run fast and advanced calculations as well as support sophisticated applications with its 1-MB flash and 256-kB RAM memory. An embedded Arm Cryptocell-310 on-chip processor provides security and cryptographic functions, which reduces CPU processing time and energy consumption. A USB interface is also available.
“The Nordic Semiconductor chip’s BT5 long-range feature is perfectly complemented by Insight SIP’s proven advanced ‘Antenna-in-Package’ technology, which allows customers to get the most out of the long-range capability,” said Insight SiP. “Bluetooth long range offers up to 4× the range of a standard BLE solution, enabling a new whole new set of use cases for BLE technology in domains such as smart buildings, lighting, agriculture, infrastructure management, and many others.”
Protocol support includes BLE, THREAD, ANT/ANT+, and a range of proprietary 2.4-GHz protocols. An NFC Tag is available for OOB pairing. A full set of interfaces is integrated into the device for analog or digital peripherals including a configurable 46 GPIOS with 8 ADC and USB, SPI, I2 C, and UART buses.
Free qualified BLE stacks for the nRF52840 are implemented in the S140 SoftDevices and enable the ISP1807-LR to be used in central, peripheral, observer, or broadcaster roles with up to 20 connections. Pin-to-pin compatibility with the ISP1507 provides an easy upgrade for existing designs. A development kit with sample software is available to get developers started on a new design.
Insight SiP’s products will be showcased by its distributors at electronica 2018 in the following stands: Texim Europe — Hall B5 #418; Tekmodul GmbH — Hall C3 #418; and Rutronik GmbH — Hall C4 #434 and Hall C3 #312.
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