Ultra-Low Power MCU with Sub-GHz Radio and Long Battery Life

Microchip Technology Inc. announced what the company claims to be the industry's smallest IEEE 802.15.4-compliant module that combines an ultra-low-power MCU with a sub-GHz radio. The company says that the MCU accelerates time to market and provides long-lasting battery life in wireless-networked sensors. The company also introduced the ATSAMR30M-XPRO Extension Development Board (see image above) supported by the Microchip ATSAMR30M18A module.

At half the size of the next smallest module on the market, Microchip says that the SAM R30 (ATSAMR30M18A) module meets the needs of space-constrained designs such as home automation sensors and controls. It operates in the 780 MHz (China), 868 MHz (Europe) and 915 MHz (North America) Sub-GHz frequency bands.

Based on IEEE 802.15.4, the SAM R30 module supports proprietary networks that can be readily customized and configured. According to the company, this support of proprietary networks makes the modules inherently less vulnerable to remote attacks. They are suitable for applications where interoperability is not desired such as alarm systems, building automation, and industrial sensor networks.

A distinct advantage of an IEEE 802.15.4-based network is that member devices can sleep for extended periods and remain part of the network. The SAM R30 module features ultra-low-power sleep modes, with wake from General-Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) or its built-in Real-Time Clock (RTC) while consuming approximately 800nA. Devices can sleep for years, only waking as needed to transmit data.

The company points out that compact sensor designs can significantly reduce installation components and simplify device deployment. For example, applications often rely on simple double-sided tape for mounting, making decreasing the size of the sensor a priority.

The SAM R30 module measures just 12.7mm x 11mm and includes the necessary features to drive any remote connected sensor, thereby eliminating the need for a separate MCU. (See image below). The device also offers up to 256KB of Flash and 40KB of RAM. It provides serial data interfaces, USB, and digital and analog I/O for advanced sensor development.

Operating in the sub-GHz RF spectrum, the SAM R30 module delivers two times the connectivity range and better propagation through walls and floors than similarly powered devices using the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

This robustness is crucial in applications such as leak detection, where the sensor may be buried deep in a remote cabinet, or for spa and pool controllers, which require reliable sub-GHz solutions that can communicate through exterior walls.

The SAM R30 module is certified with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Industry Canada (IC) and Radio Equipment Directive (RED), enabling reduced time to market and a reduction in RF testing certification costs.

With the free MiWi™ protocol stack, microchip gives developers the flexibility to implement a proprietary point-to-point, star or self-healing mesh network configurations.

"The Internet of Things consists of millions of battery-powered sensors that rely on low-power operation and reliable wireless performance," said Steve Caldwell, vice president of Microchip's Wireless Solutions business unit. "The SAM R30 certified module meets these needs while also providing a way for developers to build more compact designs and accelerate time to market."

Development Tools

SAMR30 Module Xplained Pro (XPro) evaluation kit is a hardware platform to evaluate the performance of ATSAMR30M18A. This evaluation kit is supported by the Atmel Studio Integrated Development Platform (IDP), which provides easy access to various ready-to-use applications supported by the Microchip ATSAMR30M18A module.

SAMR30 Module Xplained Pro evaluation kit

Features of ATSAMR30M18A Module

• Compact 802.15.4 Sub-GHz module
• ATSAMR30E18A SiP with ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU and Sub-GHz transceiver
• Integrated Ultra Low Power Transceiver for 700/800/900MHz ISM band
• 256KB Flash
• 16 Input/Output pins
• Maximum operating frequency 48MHz
• 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) crypto engine
• 32-bit Medium Access Control (MAC) symbol counter
• Automatic retransmission modes
• Single 1.8V to 3.6V supply
• FCC / ETSI compliant RF front end with harmonic filter
• Two Serial Communication interface (SERCOM) units left for external applications
• High precision 16 MHz crystal oscillator
• 12-bit, 350 ksps Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC)
• I2C up to 3.4MHz
• Full-speed (12Mbps) Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 interface
• 16 External General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) lines

Evaluation Board Features

The SAM R30 module (ATSAMR30M18) is available now starting at $4.29 in 1,000-unit quantities. The ATSAMR30M-XPRO Extension Development Board (AC164159) is available for $38 each. For additional information, contact a Microchip sales representative, authorized worldwide distributor or visit Microchip's website. To purchase products mentioned here, visit Microchip's purchasing portal or contact an authorized distributor.