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Wireless IP Integration for High-Efficiency IoT Microcontrollers
Ceva-Waves Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth Low Energy intellectual property enables Renesas to launch its first integrated combo microcontrollers for smart home and industrial applications.
www.ceva-ip.com
The integration of Ceva-Waves Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) intellectual property (IP) into the Renesas RA6W1 and RA6W2 microcontrollers (MCUs) provides a scalable platform for the next-generation digital supply chain and smart edge devices. These hardware and software solutions enable dual-band wireless connectivity within a single-chip architecture, targeting applications in building automation, medical monitoring, and the automotive data ecosystem.
Technical Architecture and Power Efficiency
The RA6W1 and RA6W2 MCUs utilize Ceva’s wireless stacks to implement 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) and Bluetooth 5.3 standards. By incorporating these protocols directly into the silicon, the architecture reduces the need for external radio frequency (RF) components, effectively lowering the bill of materials (BOM) for manufacturers.
To address the requirements of battery-operated devices, the technology utilizes Target Wake Time (TWT), a Wi-Fi 6 standard mechanism that allows devices to negotiate when and how often they wake up to send or receive data. Technical specifications indicate the following performance benchmarks:
- Power Consumption: Sleep mode current ranges from 200nA to 4µA.
- Network Maintenance: The devices consume less than 50µA during Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM10) cycles.
- Processing Power: The MCUs are built on the Arm Cortex-M33 core operating at 160 MHz with 704 KB of SRAM.
Flexible Implementation for Industrial and Home Automation
The RA6W1 offers dedicated dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) capabilities, while the RA6W2 functions as a combo device supporting both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth LE. This modularity allows developers to deploy systems in either "hosted" or "hostless" configurations. In a hostless setup, the MCU manages the entire wireless stack and application code independently, whereas a hosted configuration allows the device to act as a connectivity co-processor for a larger system.
The dual-band support is critical for avoiding signal congestion in dense environments. By utilizing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), the MCUs can partition channels to serve multiple clients simultaneously, reducing latency and improving throughput in industrial IoT deployments.
Security and Connectivity Standards
As IoT ecosystems move toward standardized interoperability, the integrated IP supports Matter 1.4, the industry-unified communication protocol for smart home devices. Security is managed through integrated hardware acceleration, including:
The RA6W1 offers dedicated dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) capabilities, while the RA6W2 functions as a combo device supporting both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth LE. This modularity allows developers to deploy systems in either "hosted" or "hostless" configurations. In a hostless setup, the MCU manages the entire wireless stack and application code independently, whereas a hosted configuration allows the device to act as a connectivity co-processor for a larger system.
The dual-band support is critical for avoiding signal congestion in dense environments. By utilizing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), the MCUs can partition channels to serve multiple clients simultaneously, reducing latency and improving throughput in industrial IoT deployments.
Security and Connectivity Standards
As IoT ecosystems move toward standardized interoperability, the integrated IP supports Matter 1.4, the industry-unified communication protocol for smart home devices. Security is managed through integrated hardware acceleration, including:
- AES-256 Encryption: For secure data transmission.
- Secure Boot and Key Storage: To prevent unauthorized firmware execution.
- True Random Number Generator (TRNG): For cryptographic operations.
Market Context and Availability
By integrating proven wireless IP into a standard MCU portfolio, Renesas aims to accelerate time-to-market by providing pre-validated software stacks and Radio Equipment Directive (RED) certification. These solutions provide a streamlined alternative to traditional multi-chip designs, which often require complex RF integration and longer debugging cycles for interoperability between separate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controllers.
www.ceva-ip.com
By integrating proven wireless IP into a standard MCU portfolio, Renesas aims to accelerate time-to-market by providing pre-validated software stacks and Radio Equipment Directive (RED) certification. These solutions provide a streamlined alternative to traditional multi-chip designs, which often require complex RF integration and longer debugging cycles for interoperability between separate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controllers.
www.ceva-ip.com
