Low-Power BLE5.0 and 2.4GHz Dual-Mode Microcontrollers for Proprietary RF Communication

Published  July 16, 2021   0
NuMicro M031BT/M032BT Microcontrollers

Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer, Nuvoton Technology has expanded its series of microcontrollers with the release of new NuMicro M031BT/M032BT low-power BLE 5.0 and 2.4 GHz dual-mode microcontrollers. Based on Arm Cortex-M0 core operating up to 72 MHz, with up to 512 KB Flash and 96 KB SRAM, these microcontrollers are suitable to be used in industrial control applications that require wireless connectivity for sensor hubs in rigid working environments.

The 5mm x 5mm QFN48 and 8mm x 8mm QFN68 package of these microcontrollers reduce the PCB size and the RF layout difficulty. The NuMicro M031BT and NuMicro M032BT series provides up to +8 dBm RF transmit power, receiving sensitivity of -94 dBm, 1 Mb/s, or 2 Mb/s transmission speed RF applications, and outstanding anti-noise performance in 2.4GHz interference environments to ensure communication distance and reliability. This feature set enables the M031BT/M032BT series to meet the needs of applications such as industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), smart home, consumer electronics, etc.

The NuMicro M031BT/M032BT series operates at a voltage ranging from 1.8V to 3.6V, feature a built-in 32-bit hardware divider, up to 9-channel PDMA, a 16-channel 12-bit 2 MSPS high sampling rate ADC that can run down to 1.8V low voltage, and 24-channel PWM running up to 144 MHz that can respond and accurately control external devices. 

To protect intellectual property rights, the NuMicro M031BT series is embedded with an additional security protection Flash block (Security Protection ROM, SPROM) to provide an independent and secure encrypted execution area to protect critical program code. Flash lock bits are designed to provide firmware to prevent external access or write protection. A 96-bit unique chip identification (Unique Identification, UID) and 128-bit unique customer identification (UCID) on each M031BT significantly improves product confidentiality and code security.

The Nuvoton NuMicro M031BT/M032BT ICs are now available for samples. Designers can also get NuMaker-M031BT and NuMaker-M032BT evaluation boards, software development kits, and sample codes along with free downloadable Keil MDK to speed up the end-product evaluation and development cycle.