STMicro Launches the STM32WL3 Family, Offering Sub-GHz Communications with a 15-Year Battery Life
Supporting a broad range of sub-gigahertz protocols — but not LoRa — this low-power chip aims to simplify edge IoT device designs.
STMicroelectronics has launched a new STM32 system-on-chip with an integrated sub-gigahertz (sub-GHz) radio — promising a combination of long-range communications and a low power draw for edge devices on the Internet of Things (IoT).
“ST's new highly featured, long-range STM32WL3 wireless microcontrollers help customers like Lierda and Silent Smart create innovative and flexible products, achieving very low power and fast time to market," claims STMicro's Benoit Rodriguez of the selected customers already implementing the new part. “Special features such as the wake-up radio and our flow-metering LC sensor controller enable energy-saving designs in smart metering, smart agriculture, and asset tracking that run for up to 15 years from a small battery."
The STM32WL3 family is based on a single Arm Cortext-M0+ core running at 64MHz paired with 64kB, 128kB, or 256kB of on-chip flash storage and 16kB or 32kB of static RAM (SRAM) depending on model. There's an on-board analog to digital converter (ADC) with eight channels, six digital to analog converters (DACs), a single comparator, and 17 or 32 high-current general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins, depending on version, with two I2C, two SPI, one I2S, one USART, and one UART bus. All models also include an integrated LCD driver, STMicro has confirmed.
It's the radio which makes the new parts stand out from the crowd, though. Designed for use in the sub-gigahertz spectrum, with 413-479MHz and 826-958MHz available at alunch with 169MHz support to follow next year, the low-power long-range radio offers multi-protocol and multi-modulation support include 4-(G)FSK with up to 600kb/s throughput and support for Sigfox, KNX, mioty, M-Bus, and more — though not, it must be noted, LoRa.
Between the low power of the radio itself and the integration of a dedicated wake-on-radio controller, the device is claimed to deliver between 10 and 15 years of runtime on battery with a 1µA deep-sleep mode — or infinite runtime when paired with an energy harvesting system.
STMicro has named two customers already experimenting with the parts: Lierda Internet of Things Technology, which is using the new parts to add long-range wireless support to its network products; and Silent Smart Technology, which is developing modules for use in third-party designs.
More information on the parts is available on the STMicro website; pricing has been confirmed as starting from $2.04 in 10,000-unit tray quantities, with evaluation kits "available shortly."
