STMicroelectronics STM32WB dual-core wireless MCUs

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STM32WBx5 dual-core wireless microcontrollers (MCUs) from STMicroelectronics come with Bluetooth 5, OpenThread and ZigBee 3.0 connectivity combined with ultralow-power performance.

Fusing features of ST’s STM32L4 Arm Cortex-M4 MCUs and in-house radio managed by a dedicated Cortex-M0+, the STM32WBx5 is power-conscious yet capable of concurrent wireless-protocol and real-time application execution. It is suitable for remote sensors, wearable trackers, building-automation controllers, computer peripherals, drones and other IoT devices.

Security features include Customer Key Storage (CKS), Public Key Authorization (PKA) and encryption engines for the radio MAC and upper layers. Security managed by the Cortex-M0+, including OTA secure firmware updates for application and radio stack, protects device integrity and intellectual property, ensuring easy, robust product management.

The MCUs have up to 1 MB of on-chip Flash and a Quad-SPI port for efficient connection to external memory, if needed. Additional features include crystal-less Full-Speed USB, a 32 MHz RF oscillator with trimming capacitors, a touch-sense controller, an LCD controller, analog peripherals and multiple timers and watchdogs. The balun for antenna connection is also integrated.

Leveraging ultralow-power technologies, the MCUs feature multiple power-saving modes including 13 nA Shutdown mode, adaptive voltage scaling and the adaptive real-time ART Accelerator to maximise energy efficiency and ensure long-lasting performance in self-powered applications. The integrated radio transmitter is optimised for high RF performance and low power consumption to maximise battery runtime.

The RF output power is programmable up to +6 dBm in 1 dB increments, and the MCU draws only 5.2 mA when transmitting at 0 dB. Receive sensitivity is -96 dBm for BLE communication at 1 Mmbps. Designed for a link budget of 102 dB, the radio ensures robust communication over long connection distances and includes support for an external power amplifier.

For more information: www.st.com/stm32wb.