Back in 2019, before the pandemic, the semiconductor equipment industry suddenly faced a huge slowdown coupled with severe technical impediments, which are still looking for an accurate solution. In 2017, the same equipment sector witnessed a colossal demand and the same has been extended into Q1 of 2018. But, interestingly, in the middle of 2018, the memory market started decaying, which in the end forced the vendors of DRAM and NAND to extend or rather reject their equipment orders. Experts on the other hand already predicted that the momentum of this downturn will be carried out throughout 2019 and will hamper the equipment manufacturers with exposure of NAND and DRAM. After that, geopolitical tension appears, and the business tussle between China and the US is a matter of serious concern even though the indelible collision remains unclear.

But, before proceeding further we must understand what the semiconductor equipment is all about. In the fab, there is an imperative process, which is IC manufacturing and there the semiconductor equipment plays an important role. Then, the semiconductor wafer fabrication is utilized to craft circuits that are further utilized in electrical and electronic products. Now, during semiconductor device fabrication, a vast range of procedures are utilized to alter a bare silicon wafer into a circuit. The different procedures comprise CMP (chemical-mechanical planarization), PVD/CVD (physical or chemical vapor deposition), and  RTP (rapid thermal processing) plasma etch, photolithography.

The semiconductor wafer fabrication entails important steps of the photolithographic and chemical process that makes a semiconductor product. On the other hand, the device fabrication requires four steps that comprise different procedures ranging from removal to modification of electrical properties, and deposition. When the fabrication process is completed, silicons are used to manufacture the wafers. Silicons are cooled, melted, and purified to shape an ‘ingot’ that is then cut into wafers. In order to assure the state-of-the-art quality of the semiconductor equipment, a wafer test is performed to supervise the damages because it aids in monitoring whether the processing can be completed or not.

Now, the question is why the demand of this market is augmenting. Various characteristics such as the escalating demand from the consumer and B2B electronics industry coupled with ever-increasing technological improvements in the semiconductor and telecom industry are speculated to spearhead the demand for the semiconductor wafer fab equipment market from 2019-2030. There are some additional factors like equipment and silicon wafer that would assist in analyzing the concerned market in the coming years. Most importantly, new-fangled innovation in wafer technology has crafted a denser packaging of devices like transistors and MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) are speculated to create a way for the foundation of innovative opportunities that can be leveraged by various global firms.

The New Road of Problems for the Semiconductor Equipment Sector

Counting the massive demand for memory, the semiconductor equipment sector was anticipated to grow by 15.5 percent back in 2018 as noted by VLSI Research. But, as the memory market at that time witnessed a downturn it was speculated to pull down the entire industry, which in the end caused a decrease in the IC market by 1.6 percent in 2019. On the other hand, the semiconductor equipment industry is following the same path. According to the experts, 2018 was a massive year for the semiconductor industry’s growth, but the memory market’s reduction in demand reduced the pace of the semiconductor industry. Both the semiconductor and memory market was speculated to gain back the pace, but somehow, the downturn that was carried out in the Q2 of 2018 was witnessed during the entire 2019, a year before the pandemic surfaced. 2019 was expected to be optimistic, but sadly both the markets declined in 2019 and the effect was felt till now after the pandemic. This is because there is some sort of over-build in the sectors discussed above and more uncertainty was added when entire China was under stern lockdown. Calculating the entire problem is the memory decline. In 2019, the sales declined to almost 10 percent where it was expected the market to be positive with a growth rate of 4 percent.

However, it has broken the entire semiconductor equipment market. In another survey, the US-based industry association SEMI stated that the international sales of top-notch semiconductor equipment would escalate from 9.7 percent to $62.1 billion in 2018, but in 2019, the market reduced by 4 percent. In the same year, South Korea turned to be the biggest supplier of semiconductor equipment, which is then followed by Taiwan and China, claims SEMI. The picture is also hazy from the applications perspective because the smartphone market remained dull at that time, but additional applications like wireless, automotive, and AI were expected to lead the IC demand.

In order to grab the vein of the market to carefully examine the demand picture of two key important centers in the IC sector-photomasks and silicon wafers. SEMI clearly noted that the shipments of silicon wafers were 13,090 million square inches in 2019, which is about 5.2 percent more than 2018. The shipment was about 7.1 percent during 2018. In 2019, the photomask market outstripped to $billion, which is more than 4 percent in 2018.

For several years, China has been a huge prospective market for semiconductor equipment, but nonetheless, trade scuffles are posing a huge problem in this region. In this country, there are two varieties of chip manufacturers; domestic and international firms. Domestic firms have been investing for many years to perk up the industry. An unnamed industry expert stated that 200mm is a very imperative equipment market and the demand for RF chips, analog, and MEMs caused the scarcity of 200mm fab equipment and capacity.

The Sudden Growth of Wafer Fab Equipment Market

According to the experts at Counterpoint Research, the paucity of semiconductors is going to pose a huge challenge to the Wafer Fab Equipment supply chain this year. But, interestingly the profits of the WFE manufacturers are speculated to augment 18 percent this year, which will surpass the $129 billion market. This investment in this sector will grow this year due to the massive spending on higher semiconductor performance, complex technology transformations, ongoing investments for the expansion of production capacity, and escalating manufacturing and device intricacy.

The WFE market looks very promising because foundries are undertaking tough efforts to enhance wafer output, ameliorate productivity and decrease defects. On the other hand, the demand is now exceeding supply and in fact, the wafer processing steps are escalated to offer intricate and manifold applications. In 2021, the investments in WFE are restricted by supply, and the demands that are unmet are pushed to 2022 and moreover, customers have extended the allocations of capex.

Highlighting the reason behind the growth of the WFE market, senior research analyst, Ashwath Rao told, “This year, the top five WFE manufacturer's revenue will surpass $100 billion, which is due to the increasing capital volume, new-fangled product range, sturdy demand of chips across various industries, and well-built WFE investment outlook. As the global supply chain has been hampered, there is not much availability of components for WFE sub-systems, which would augment the lead time of equipment and obstruction of deliveries. This will lead to the fall of revenue during the Q1.”

If the market of WFE is carefully examined, it will reveal that towards the end of 2021, the revenue recorded a staggering growth of $110 billion, an escalation of 33 percent YoY, spearheaded by the sturdiness of varied segments such as Foundry/Logic, NAND, DRAM. The top five supplier’s service revenue recorded 29 percent YoY to $22.2 billion. The year back in 2020, the overall growth of various segments across the market was escorted by Foundry/Logic enhancement, NAND recovery, and a bit of increase in the market for DRAM assisted in grabbing the total revenue growth of $83 billion, an extension of 17 percent YoY.

“In spite of supply chain obstructions due to the pandemic and increased geopolitical problems, during the Q2 of 2022, moderate growth of WFE industry will be witnessed. Along with that, gross for that year will also be reduced due to the impact of price increases due to workforce, logistics prices, and components from suppliers. The new drift towards export regulations between regions also entails close supervision. Hence, growth in Q2 is speculated to be dampened,” added Rao.

When starting a project, the first challenge is to select the best parts for it. In the case of a tracking project, the main parts would be the GPS and GSM modules are the main components. This article will help you find the best ones from the choices available in the market. We will discuss the features or specifications you should check before sourcing these parts.

Things to Consider before Purchasing a GPS Module

• Size: Sizing matters as it may affect not only the size constraints but also other technical parameters like lock time and accuracy etc. For applications like tracking, we will need the module with the smallest size possible without any compromise in the accuracy or the response time, etc.
• Update Rate: The update rate of a GPS or GNSS module is basically how often it recalculates and reports its position. The standard for most devices is 1Hz (Only once per second). 5-10Hz update rates can be considered if you need them to work on faster vehicles which are not required in most real-life scenarios.
• Communication Interface: It’s the interface used to communicate with the GPS Module. Serial/TTL or the USB interface is the most commonly used interface type by the GPS module.
• Communication Speed/Baud Rate Refers to the speed of communication between the microcontroller and the GPS module, in the case of serial interface it is called the baud rate. Higher the baud rate allows for faster GPS data to be sent to the MCU.
• Navigation Sensitivity dBm figure dictates how prone the GPS module is able to capture the signal from the satellites. Higher dBm indicates that the module is able to better pick up satellite signals
• Power Requirements include the working voltage and the power consumption. It is necessary to select the proper device because in most cases the modules will be battery powered and we will need to conserve the battery to maximize working time. The average power consumption of most common GPS modules is around 30mA at 3.3V
• Number of Channels that the GPS module runs will affect your time to first fix (TTFF). Since the module doesn’t know which satellites are in view, the more frequencies/channels it can check at once, the faster a fix will be found. After the module gets a lock or fix, some modules will shut down the extra blocks of channels to save power. If you don’t mind waiting a little longer for a lock, 12 or 14 channels will work just fine for tracking.
• Accuracy: Lower the distance it can get down to = Higher accuracy. Usually able to find out your location within 30 seconds, down to +/- 10m. Most modules can get it down to +/-3m
• Antenna: Remember, that little GPS module is receiving signals from satellites about 12,000 miles away in the sky. For the best performance, you want a clear path between the antenna and most of the sky. Weather, clouds, and snowstorms shouldn't affect the signal, but things like trees, buildings, mountains, and the roof over your head, will all create unwanted interference, and your GPS accuracy will suffer. So, the choice of the proper antenna is very crucial.
• Gain: The gain is the efficiency of the antenna in any given orientation. This applies to both transmitting antennas and receiving antennas.
• Chipset: The GPS chipset is responsible for doing everything from performing calculations, to providing the analog circuitry for the antenna, to power control, to the user interface. It’s a lot of work, and yet that’s exactly what these tiny GPS units are doing. The chipset is independent of the antenna type, therefore you can have a range of different antennas for GPS modules with specific chipsets. Common chipsets are ublox, SiRF, and SkyTraq, and all contain very powerful processors that allow for fast acquisition times and high reliability. The differences between chipsets usually fall on a balance between power consumption, acquisition times, and accessibility of hardware. So, choosing the best one for our application is a crucial part.
• Price: Last but not least the price of the module is very important. It is very important to keep everything under the budget.
• Time to First Fix(TTFF): Time taken for satellite lock after power-up or reboot.

So now as we know what we are looking for in a GPS Module, let us take a look at a few GPS Modules in the market now:

NEO-6M GPS Module

Considered as one of the more popular GPS modules in the market, the NEO-6M module is a family of stand-alone GPS receivers from the NEO-6 module series.

Based on the list of considerations:

Size: 23mm x 30mm

Update Rate: 1 Hz, 5Hz maximum

Power Requirements:

• Power Supply Voltage: 3V – 5V

Baud Rate: 9600

Communication Interface: UART

Sensitivity: -161dBm

Number of Channels: 50

Time to First Fix:

• Cold Start: 27s
• Warm Start: 27s
• Hot Start: 1s
• Aided Starts: <3s

Antennas: Includes external patch antenna

Accuracy:

• 2.5m GPS Horizontal Position Accuracy

Product Applications:

• Battery-operated mobile devices
• GPS tracker
• GPS navigator

NEO-M8N GPS Module

The NEO-M8M GPS Module with Ceramic Active Antenna series of concurrent GNSS modules is built on the high-performing M8 GNSS engine in the industry-proven NEO form factor. The NEO-M8M is optimized for cost-sensitive applications, while NEO-M8N/M8Q provides the best performance and easier RF integration. The NEO-M8N offers high performance also at low power consumption levels. The future-proof NEO-M8N includes an internal Flash that allows future firmware updates. This makes NEO-M8N perfectly suited to industrial and automotive applications.

Based on the list of considerations:

Size: 23mm x 30mm

Update Rate: 1 Hz, 5Hz maximum

Power Requirements:

• Power Supply Voltage: 3.6V

Baud Rate: 9600

Communication Interface: UART/USB/SPI

Sensitivity: -164dBm

Number of Channels: 72

Time to First Fix:

• Cold Start: 26s
• Hot Start: 1s
• Aided Starts: 4s

Antennas: Includes external patch antenna

Accuracy:

• 2.5m GPS Horizontal Position Accuracy

Product Applications:

• Battery-operated mobile devices
• GPS tracker
• GPS navigator

SIM28ML

SIM28ML is a small, high-performance, and reliable GPS module. This is a standalone L1 frequency GPS module in an SMT type and it is designed with an MTK high sensitivity navigation engine, which allows you to achieve the industry’s highest levels of sensitivity, accuracy, and Time-to-First-Fix (TTFF) with the lowest power consumption.

Size: 10.1*9.7*2.5mm

Update Rate: Up to 10Hz, 1Hz by default

Power Requirements:

• Power Supply Voltage: 2.8~4.3V
• Power consumption
  • Acquisition 17mA
  • Tracking 16mA
  • Backup 8uA

Baud Rate: Adjustable 4800bps~115200bps Default: 9600bps

Communication Interface: UART

Sensitivity: -165dBm

Number of Channels: 22 (Tracking)/ 66 (Acquisition)

Time to First Fix:

• Cold Start: 32s
• Warm Start: 3s
• Hot Start: <1s

Antennas: Embedded patch antenna: 15.0mm × 15.0mm × 4.0mm

Accuracy:

• 2.5m GPS Horizontal Position Accuracy

Product Applications:

• Battery-operated mobile devices
• GPS tracker
• GPS navigator

Quectel L80

L80 GPS module with an embedded patch antenna and LNA brings the high performance of MTK positioning engine to industrial applications. It is able to achieve the industry’s highest level of sensitivity, accuracy and TTFF with the lowest power consumption in a small-footprint leadless package. With 66 search channels and 22 simultaneous tracking channels, it acquires and tracks satellites in the shortest time even at the indoor signal level. The embedded flash memory provides the capacity for users to store some useful navigation data and allows for future updates.

Size: 16.0mm × 16.0mm × 6.45mm

Update Rate: Up to 10Hz, 1Hz by default

Power Requirements:

• Power Supply Voltage: 3.0V~4.3V Typical voltage: 3.3V

Baud Rate: Adjustable 4800bps~115200bps Default: 9600bps

Communication Interface: UART

Sensitivity: -165dBm

Number of Channels: 22 (Tracking)/ 66 (Acquisition)

Time to First Fix:

• Cold Start: 35s
• Warm Start: 30s
• Hot Start: 1s

Antennas: Embedded patch antenna: 15.0mm × 15.0mm × 4.0mm

Accuracy:

• 2.5m GPS Horizontal Position Accuracy

Product Applications:

• Battery-operated mobile devices
• GPS tracker
• GPS navigator

Beitian BN-220

BN-220 is a small gps receiver module, with 4M flash to save the configuration. It is mostly used with drones.

Size: 16.0mm × 16.0mm × 6.45mm

Update Rate: 1Hz-10Hz,Default1Hz

Power Requirements:

• Power Supply Voltage: 3.0V~5.5V Typical voltage: 5V

Baud Rate: Adjustable 4800bps~921600bps Default: 9600bps

Communication Interface: UART

Interface Protocol: NMEA-0183orUBX,DefaultNMEA-0183

Sensitivity: -167dBm

Number of Channels: 72Channel(Acquisition)

Time to First Fix:

• Cold Start: 26s
• Warm Start: 25s
• Hot Start: 1s

Antennas: Embedded patch antenna

Accuracy:

• 2m GPS Horizontal Position Accuracy

Product Applications:

• Drones

Grove – GPS Module

The Grove – GPS Module is the Seeed version of a GPS receiver that’s cost-efficient and field-programmable. It’s armed with a SIM28 and serial communication configuration.

Size: 40mm x 20mm x 13mm

Update Rate: 1 Hz, max 10 Hz

Power Requirements: 3.3/5V

Baud Rate: 9600 – 115,200

Communication Interface: UART

Sensitivity: -160dBm

Number of Channels: 22 tracking/66 acquisition channels

Time to First Fix:

• Cold starts with EASY: 13s
• Warm Starts with EASY: 1-2s
• Hot Starts: <1s

*EASY is a self-generate orbit protection

Antennas: Antenna included in the package

Accuracy: 2.5m GPS Horizontal Position Accuracy

Product Applications:

• GPS tracker
• GPS navigation
• Distance measurement

Other Product Features:

• Low power consumption
• Baud rates configurable
• Grove compatible interface

Grove – GPS (Air530)

Next up, we have the Grove – GPS (Air530). It’s a high-performance, highly integrated multi-mode satellite positioning and navigation module. It supports GPS / Beidou / Glonass / Galileo / QZSS / SBAS, which makes it suitable for GNSS positioning applications such as car navigation, smart wear, and drone.

If your GPS isn’t working well in urban areas or outdoors under only one or a few satellite modules, you should definitely check out this GPS module. Meanwhile, this module is capable of receiving more than 6 satellites at the same time and is able to work excellently even if there’s a very bad signal.

This GPS adopts the integrated design of RF baseband, which integrates DC/DC, LDO, LNA, RF front-end, baseband processing, 32-bit RISC based chip, RAM, FLASH storage, RTC and power management functions.

Size: 40mm x 20mm x 13mm

Update Rate:

Power Requirements: 3.3/5V

Baud Rate: – 9600 –921600

Communication Interface: UART

Sensitivity: – –166dBm

Number of Channels:

Time to First Fix:

• Cold start: 30 seconds
• Warm Start: 4 seconds

Antennas: Antenna included in the package

Accuracy: 2.5m Horizontal positioning accuracy

Product Applications:

• GPS tracker
• GPS navigation
• Distance measurement

Other Product Features:

• Highly integrated Multi-mode satellite positioning and navigation
• Grove compatible interface

Things to Consider before Purchasing a GSM Module

• Size: Similar to the GPS module the size matters in the case of a GSM module too. The smaller the size more compact our project will be.
• Communication Interface: It’s the interface used to communicate with the GSM Module. Serial/TTL or the USB interface is the most commonly used interface type by the GSM module.
• Communication Protocol: Communication protocol is used to communicate with the module. Most modules use AT Commands for this purpose. With AT commands, there will be commands to control each function of the module. We will use these commands to configure the module, to get information from the module, for services SMS, MMS and for voice and data links too.
• Communication Speed /Baud rate Refers to the speed of communication between the microcontroller and the GSM module, in the case of serial interface it is called the baud rate. Higher the baud rate allows for faster GSM data to be sent to the MCU.
• Communication Standard refers to the mobile standards like GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE etc. GSM commonly stands for 2G, WCDMA for 3G and LTE for 4G communications. And the CDMA is no longer used in most areas of the world.
• Supported Frequency Bands refers to the frequency bands supported by the module. 900MHz and 1800Mhz are the most common 2G bands in India while 900MHz and 2100MHz are the 3G bands. And for 4G the most common bands used in India are  B1 (2100 MHz), B3 (1800 MHz), B5 (850 MHz), B8 (900 MHz), B40 (TDD 2300 MHz), B41 (TDD 2500 MHz). So it is very important to choose the correct module which supports the bands supported by the carrier in the intended area.
• Supported services refers to the services supported by the module including voice, SMS and data. Some even support FM. Not all modules support all the protocols. So be careful when choosing the correct one.
• Data Transmission Throughout It refers to the maximum upload and download data speed supported by the module. For example, the most famous SIM800L has a maximum upload and download speed of 85.6kbps, while the SIM7500 module supports up to 150Mbps of download and 150Mbps of upload speed in LTE Category 4. So, if our applications need more bandwidth we must choose accordingly.
• Transmit Power: Transmission power of the module. Higher the power higher the reception, but with higher power usage. Not only that the power regulation may vary with countries so make sure to choose the correct module with proper transmission power rating as per your regulatory authorities.
• Power Requirements: This includes the working voltage and the power consumption. It is necessary to select the proper device because in most cases we will the modules will be battery powered and we will need to conserve the battery to the maximum.
• Price: Last but not least the price of the module is very important. It is very important to keep everything under the budget.

So now as we know what we are looking for in a GSM Module, let us take a look at a few GSM Modules in the market now:

SIMCOM SIM800L

SIM800L is a quad-band GSM/GPRS module, that works on frequencies GSM850MHz, EGSM900MHz, DCS1800MHz and PCS1900MHz. SIM800L features GPRS multi-slot class 12/ class 10 (optional) and supports the GPRS coding schemes CS-1, CS-2, CS-3 and CS-4. With a tiny configuration of 15.8*17.8*2.4mm, SIM800L can meet almost all the space requirements in user applications, such as smartphones, PDA and other mobile devices. SIM800L has 88pin pads of LGA package and provides all hardware interfaces between the module and customers’ boards.

It is also available as a module. The image of the module is given above.

Size:  15.8*17.8*2.4mm

Communication Interface:  UART/USB

Communication Protocol: AT Command

Communication Speed /Baud rate: 1200bps to 115200bps

Communication Standard: GSM GPRS(2G)

Supported Frequency Bands: Quad-band: GSM 850, EGSM 900, DCS 1800, PCS 1900

Supported services: Voice, SMS, DATA GPRS

Data Transmission Throughout: GPRS data downlink transfer: max. 85.6 kbps/GPRS data uplink transfer: max. 85.6 kbps 

Transmit Power: Class 4 (2W) at GSM 850 and EGSM 900, Class 1 (1W) at DCS 1800 and PCS 1900

Power Supply: 3.4V ~4.4V typical power consumption in sleep mode is 0.7mA

Ai Thinker A9 GPRS Series Module

Ai Thinker A9 GPRS Series Module can be used in a wide range of IoT applications and is ideal for IoT applications for home automation, industrial wireless control, wearable electronics, wireless location sensing devices, wireless location system signals, and other IoT applications. The A9 is a complete quad-band GSM / GPRS module in a compact design SMD package. Its stable performance, appearance of compact, and cost-effective, could meet the diverse needs of customers.

Size: 19.2*18.8*2.7mm

Communication Interface: UART/USB/I2C

Communication Protocol: AT Command

Communication Speed /Baud rate: 1200bps to 115200bps

Communication Standard: GSM GPRS(2G)

Supported Frequency Bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHZ

Supported services: Voice, SMS, DATA GPRS

Data Transmission Throughout: GPRS data downlink transfer: max. 85.6 kbps/GPRS data uplink transfer: max. 42.8Kbps

Transmit Power: Class 4 (2W) at GSM 850 and EGSM 900, Class 1 (1W) at DCS 1800 and PCS 1900

Power Supply: 3.8V-4.2V, 4V power supply is recommended

IoT-GA6 Mini GPRS GSM Module

GA6 module is a mini version of serial GSM / GPRS core development board based on GPRS A6 chip. This chip supports GSM/GPRS network, available for GPRS and SMS message data remote transmission. With the help of the A6 chip, GPRS never deactivated until its application is on and online. It supports either digital and analog audio, with HR, FR, EFR, AMR voice coding. This module can add voice, text, SMS, and data capabilities to your Arduino project. It has more price to performance value than the SIM800, SIM900 modules. This small and low power consumption module can communicate with the microcontrollers and Arduino boards through the UART interface, with the capability of command reception, including GSM 07.07, GSM 07.05 standards. It can be used for IoT projects, M2M applications, industrial automation, BMS projects, home automation, public transportation, personal tracking, electricity environment detection, wireless POS, smart metering, and other M2M applications

Size: 17.6*15.7*2.3mm

Communication Interface: UART/USB

Communication Protocol: AT Command

Communication Speed /Baud rate: 115200bps

Communication Standard: GSM GPRS(2G)

Supported Frequency Bands: Quad-band: GSM 850, EGSM 900, DCS 1800, PCS 1900

Supported services: Voice, SMS, DATA GPRS

Data Transmission Throughout: GPRS data downlink transfer: max. 85.6 kbps/GPRS data uplink transfer: max. 42.8kbps 

Transmit Power: Class 4 (2W) at GSM 850 and EGSM 900, Class 1 (1W) at DCS 1800 and PCS 1900

Power Supply: 3.5V ~ 4.2V 3.3V Logic

Quectel M66

The M66 is a quad-band GSM/GPRS 2G module measuring 17.7mm × 15.8mm × 2.3mm which uses LCC castellation packaging. Based on the latest 2G chipset, it is optimized for data, SMS and audio transmission, and is designed for low-power IoT use cases that operate in harsh conditions. The M66 uses surface-mounted technology, making it ideal for large-scale manufacturing, which can have strict requirements on cost and efficiency. The M66’s ultra-compact profile makes it particularly suited to size-sensitive applications, and the module can serve a range of applications such as wearable devices, automotive, PDAs, asset tracking, POS, smart metering and telematics.

Size: 17.7mm × 15.8mm × 2.3mm

Communication Interface: UART/USB

Communication Protocol: AT Command

Communication Speed /Baud rate: 115200bps

Communication Standard: GSM GPRS(2G), Bluetooth 3.0

Supported Frequency Bands: Quad-band: GSM 850, EGSM 900, DCS 1800, PCS 1900

Supported services: Voice, SMS, DATA GPRS

Data Transmission Throughout: GPRS data downlink transfer: max. 85.6kbps/GPRS data uplink transfer: max. 85.6kbps 

Transmit Power: Class 4 (2W) at GSM 850 and EGSM 900, Class 1 (1W) at DCS 1800 and PCS 1900

Power Supply: 3.3V ~ 4.6V

SIMCOM SIM868

SIM868 module is the complete Quad-Band GSM/GPRS module which combines GNSS( GPS/GLONASS/BDS) technology for satellite navigation. It has strong extension capability with abundant interfaces including UART, USB2.0, GPIO etc. The module provides much flexibility and ease of integration for customers’ applications.

Size: 17.6*15.7*2.3mm

Communication Interface: UART/USB

Communication Protocol: AT Command

Communication Speed /Baud rate: 1200bps to 115200bps

Communication Standard: GSM GPRS(2G)

Supported Frequency Bands: Quad-band: GSM 850, EGSM 900, DCS 1800, PCS 1900

Supported services: Voice, SMS, DATA GPRS

Data Transmission Throughout: GPRS data downlink transfer: max. 85.6 kbps/GPRS data uplink transfer: max. 85.6 kbps 

Transmit Power: Class 4 (2W) at GSM 850 and EGSM 900, Class 1 (1W) at DCS 1800 and PCS 1900

Power Supply: 3.4V ~ 4.4V

Update Rate: Up to 10Hz, 1Hz by default

Power Requirements:

• Power Supply Voltage: 3.0V~4.3V Typical voltage: 3.3VCommunication Interface: UART

Sensitivity: -167dBm

Number of Channels: 33 tracking /99 acquisition

Time to First Fix:

• Cold Start: 28s
• Warm Start: 22s
• Hot Start: 1s

Antennas: External

Accuracy:

• 2.5m GPS Horizontal Position Accuracy

Conclusion

We are concluding this article hoping you got a better idea about the available option for a GPS/GSM module. In the article, we haven’t included any 3G/4G modules since they are not good for such an application, and they are very costly at this point. 2G GSM modules will give the best result because of their coverage and they are dirt cheap nowadays. And modules we have covered are the most common available once in the market and many other variants are there too. You may extend your scope to them if you can’t find a suitable one from the above suggestions.

A year back, the government of India has taken an initiative to craft the country into a five trillion dollar economy towards the end of 2025, and one of the key requirements to turn this goal into a reality is revolutionizing the nation’s digital infrastructure. The country has already dug deep into enhancing the digital infrastructure, but experts claim that 5G services will be the key to a successful digital India. The question still remains when will 5G be available in the country in a full-fledged way. To answer this question, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently stated that it will be available in mid or Q4 of 2022. The department also proclaimed that at first the services will be available in 13 cities and then the rest of the country will enjoy the benefits of this service. Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Delhi, and Mumbai are the first 13 cities to enjoy 5G.

5G has ultra-low latency through which it will offer speedier and seamless communication all over the world. This next-generation cellular technology will spearhead and empower modern cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and machine-to-machine communications. It will ultimately support a huge range of modern applications and use cases such as self-driving, facial recognition systems, connected devices, chatbots, and many more. In an interaction with the media, Nitin Bansal, managing director of Ericsson India said 5G will boost the economic growth in India and it will assist service providers in monitoring and managing the increasing data requirements of consumers in an efficient manner. The early use-cases for 5G in the country are speculated to be fixed wireless access (FWA) and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) that would aid in solving the troubles of limited fixed broadband services and perk up the data experience while on the go.

Now, the question is why India needs 5G badly in 2022. Satyajit Sinha, Senior Analyst at IoT Analytics told CircuitDigest, "The mobile operators will not only be assisted by 5G in monitoring the escalating data requirements of consumers, but also open the gates of revenues for them. 5G is already perking-up various industries in the world via commencing the fourth industrial revolution and by improving the network experience for several businesses and end consumers. In fact, 5G is speculated to spearhead the digital transformation of several sectors like education, energy and utilities, automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, and many more. Towards the end of 2030, the anticipated worth of 5G-enabled digitalization revenues in the country will reach around USD 17 billion.”

Source: Pixabay

How 5G will Lead India’s Digital Transformation by 2025

People in the remote corners of the country enjoyed the benefits of 4G in a better way, but at the same time, we cannot overlook the imperativeness of broadband connectivity for the financial and social enhancement of the nation. The lockdowns have underlined the significance of connectivity in every aspect of our life starting from introducing work from home, the commencement of online trade on a large scale, online education and most importantly, connecting people. The digital India initiative that centers on empowerment depends massively on connectivity and the mobile networks in the country continue to offer its services on that promise.

According to telecom experts, 5G is not only about some giga-bit data speeds. In the beginning, the fuss was about the speed of the 5G deployments, but it is going to transform our life the way we live and play, and work. The fundamental shift from 4G to 5G would be multi-dimensional and the immensity is much bigger than the shift from 3G to 4G. 5G will not only offer a wide range of new-fangled spectrum to be put to use, but it will also become more effective than 4G in the spectrum already in utilization. It can accumulate more data than 4G for the same volume of spectrum.

5G will fetch a huge transformational shift in the teaching domain with remote learning coupled with teaching in the classroom to intelligently escalate the educational efficacies. In India, where 70 percent of people live in rural areas it becomes too difficult to provide top-notch education to everyone manually. Hence, 5G backed by ultra-low latency and higher speed will provide proper education and cater to a wider population. Then, when it comes to smart cities and smart homes, devices furnished with sensors communicating to each other will turn into key equipment. For homes specifically, people might witness cutting-edge AI backed personalization, automated grocery lists, tracking electronic devices, and automated deployment of everyday routines. In terms of smart cities, 5G has the potential to offer smart metering systems and smart electricity grids, safety mechanisms, waste disposal systems, and smart traffic management.

Highlighting the importance of 5G in India’s digital transformation, Lt. Gen Dr. S.P Kochhar, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said, "With the Prime Minister’s inauguration of the 5G testbeds, the industry is on the pathway towards indigenization of 5G and it opens up opportunities for various other new-age technologies such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), etc. which will drive major innovations across industries – Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Healthcare, Transportation and bring us closer towards our vision i.e. Digital India. A couple of impediments like cutting-edge infrastructure and Right of Way (RoW) policies being discussed thoroughly among the regulatory bodies and the unveiling of Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal is yet another promising move for the Indian telecom industry. Industry associations like COAI are working closely with the regulatory bodies and service providers to navigate through the challenges and further amplify the initiatives launched by the Government of India.”

COAI also added that 5G network rollout is expected to add $450 billion to the Indian economy, increasing the pace of development and creating jobs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that 5G technology will bring positive change in the governance of the country, ease of living, and ease of doing business, especially newer opportunities for the B2B businesses.

Current Role of 5G in Averting Security Risks for IoT Devices

In the coming few years, the volume of IoT connections is expected to augment all over the world, which is about 25.2 billion towards the end of 2025, predicts GSMA Intelligence unit. The report also highlighted that over 3.1 billion out of the 25.2 billion would employ cellular technologies comprising low power wide area Mobile IoT networks. These days, a lot IoT backed devices utilizes wireless technology that comprises of short-range technologies, mostly utilizing unlicensed spectrum such as ZigBee, WiFi, and Z-Wave, and also and wide area cellular technologies, using licensed spectrum, such as LTE, 5G, and GSM. According to experts, cellular technologies that operate under a licensed spectrum offer a huge number of advantages for devices powered by IoT. These are mostly service enablement, sophisticated provisioning, and also device management. Apart from that cellular networks provide a huge international coverage and accurate reliability, performance, and security, which are required by the most promising and in demand IoT applications.

Now, talking from a security perspective, there could be 1.8 billion 5G connections by the end of 2025 as per the GSM association. Back in 2020, the 5G IoT market reached a value of USD 1.5 billion and is speculated to stand USD 40 billion by the end of 2026, at a CAGR of 72.9 percent over the time slot between 2021-2026. When 5G is amalgamated with IoT, it escalates the operational performance of several devices, but at the same time, high-end risks emerge. According to Satyajit Sinha, there is huge difference between deployment of IoT and deployment of 5G, which is regarding the standards that are available in either of these technologies.

Basically, the IoT powered devices are still highly unregulated and then follow no generic standards. An IoT device is crafted out of hardware and sensors that further connect a layer of software and the sensors. The software manages the hardware and sensor data and also does the computing. Apart from that, there is a communication interface available that permits connection to the 5G network. Now, crafting a basic security architecture is highly intricate as there are several ways to design, build, and utilize an IoT product.

The current risk assessments and methods are not perfectly designed to get to know about the IoT-based risks in a comprehensible manner. The devices will be on all the time and will be connected to the 5G network and ubiquitous. For instance, if you carefully look at smart home implementation, if there is a voice-enabled device, which is connected to an IoT-powered lock on the door, the person opens the door with his or her voice command. It is not fully secured because a thief who came to know the person has left the home, can come to the door and speak with the same voice command and can open the door. The point is there is absence of authentication at the IoT device. Now, another point to be noted is that 5G will still suffer from the 4G weakness, claims experts. Now, it is not possible to unleash a comprehensive 5G network all at once and in fact, in fewer places 5G is moderately deployed side by side a 4G software components and hardware for a certain time slot. Hence, to have a sturdy IoT security platform or a framework, it requires a multi-layered approach.

Conclusion

5G, after a constant transformation in the last two years, has grown from an emerging idea into a pervasive and important technology for mobile devices. The features of 5G that includes ultra-high density, ultra-high-speed, and ultra-low latency will be inserted into AI via wireless. The AI actions can be completed rapidly through 5G on the terminal side and it also perk-up personalized services, boost customer experience and decrease latency. In fact, 5G will also be benefited from the AI-enabled processing ability.

Highlighting the advantages, Neil Shah, Research Vice President at Counterpoint Research said, “The applications that are based on AI can respond in the accurate time to the data generated by the 5G networks, thereby offering new-fangled potentials for automation. Removing the conventional wireless algorithms with the help of proper machine learning, AI will be able to significantly decrease the price of manpower and enhance the total performance. It will also offer safety to the people’s everyday life, encouraging digital transformation, modernizing several commercial and industrial activities, and unleashing endless top-notch products and services.”

Raspberry Pi Pico is a low-cost, versatile microcontroller development board from the Raspberry pi foundation. It is constructed around the RP2040 chip, which was designed in-house by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It was released in January 2021, and it’s been a very popular development board among the DIY community ever since. Now, a year and a half after the first release, the Raspberry Pi foundation just released a few variants for the Pico board namely Pico H, Pico W and Pico WH. Let’s look at all these variants and their differences.

Raspberry Pi Pico – the 4$ ARM Cortex Development Board

Raspberry Pi Pico is the first low-cost Microcontroller development board from the infamous Raspberry Pi Foundation. Available for just $4, the Pico is powered by Raspberry Pi’s own custom silicon RP2040 SoC which features an Arm Cortex M0+ processor running at up to 133 MHz with 264K of SRAM and 2MB of onboard storage. A great choice for any DIY project. Unlike previous boards from the Raspberry Pi foundation, the Pico is not an SBC that can run a full operating system, but a microcontroller development board that can be programmed in MicroPython or C Programming languages.

With a large on-chip memory, symmetric dual-core processor complex, deterministic bus fabric, and rich peripheral set augmented with a unique Programmable I/O (PIO) subsystem, RP2040 provides professional users with unrivalled power and flexibility. With detailed documentation, a polished MicroPython port, and a UF2 bootloader in ROM, it is the best development board for beginner and hobbyist users.

RP2040 is manufactured on a modern 40nm process node by TSMC, delivering high performance, low dynamic power consumption, and low leakage, with a variety of low-power modes to support extended-duration operation on battery power. Raspberry Pi Pico pairs RP2040 with 2MB of Flash memory, and a power supply chip supporting input voltages from 1.8-5.5V. It provides 26 GPIO pins, three of which can function as analogue inputs, on 0.1”-pitch through-hole pads with castellated edges.

Raspberry Pi Pico Board Pinout

Raspberry Pi Pico Board Specifications

Form factor: 21 mm × 51 mm

CPU: Dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ @ 133MHz

Memory: 264KB on-chip SRAM; 2MB onboard QSPI Flash

Interfacing: 26 GPIO pins, including 3 analogue inputs

Peripherals:

• 2 × UART
• 2 × SPI controllers
• 2 × I2C controllers
• 16 × PWM channels
• 1 × USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and

Device Support: 8 × PIO state machines

Input Power: 1.8–5.5V DC

Operating Temperature: -20°C to +85°C

Raspberry Pi Pico H

Pico H is the same as the original Raspberry Pi Pico. There are no functional differences between them. The main difference is that the old gold-plated castellated holes are removed, and the header pins are pre-soldered.

Another major difference is the new debug connector. The original Pico has a 2.54mm standard header pi for the debug. While the new Pico H has a small, keyed, 3-pin SM03B-SRSS-TB connector which can be used for either UART or 2-wire serial debug interfaces. Everything else including physical dimensions and pinout is the same as the original Pico.

Raspberry Pi Pico W and WH

Even though the Raspberry Pi Pico is a very powerful board, its main disadvantage over its competitors like ESP8266 or ESP32 is the lack of wireless connectivity. The new Pico W and WH have the solution for that. The new Pico W comes with an Infineon CYW43439 chip that’s supposed to support both 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5.2. Even though the Chip supports Bluetooth 5.2, it is not enabled at this time. The Raspberry Pi foundation may enable it in the future through some firmware updates.

The Wi-Fi module and antenna have been added, but other than that, the design is basically the same as the Pico. The user LED is now connected to the CYW43439 wireless chip but is still controllable from the RP2040 SDK. It’s pin-to-pin compatible with the original Raspberry Pi Pico so existing add-ons or carrier boards should work without modifications.

The buck converter on the Pico W is also changed to meet the new power demands. The new Pico W uses the RT6154A from Richtek as the power regulator instead of the RT6150B in the original Pico design. The debug port also moved near the SoC to make space for the Wi-Fi antenna.

As you can see there isn’t really much difference between the original Raspberry Pi Pico and the new Pico W. We have the same GPIO, microUSB port, dimensions and SoC. The only difference is the inclusion of Infineon’s CYW43439 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi chip. Just like the Pico H, the Pico WH is the Pico W with already populated header pins and it’s yet to be released. Unfortunately, no reference images are available to make sure of any other changes.

You can also check out Raspberry Pi Pico Projects and Tutorials here.

Devoid of electromagnetic waves, an anechoic chamber (Figure 1) is a shielded room designed to provide an ideal environment for testing electronics. Anechoic means free from echoes—or non-reflective. These chambers are used in compliance testing. The surfaces of anechoic chambers are lined with carbon-based absorbing materials (Figure 2) and ferrite tiles in order to eliminate electromagnetic emanation, radiation, and reflection. Isolation from external interference enables design engineers to accurately test devices and electronic components like radar systems, antennas, sensors, and more. In an anechoic chamber, designers can also conduct a wide range of tests and measurements like thermal noise and military specification tests often conducted in certification labs.

Figure 1: Connected Development’s Over-the-Air (OTA) pre-compliance anechoic chamber used for antenna, radio, OTA, and RF testing. (Source: Connected Development)

Figure 2: The inside of the chamber is lined with conductive carbon-coated material and is designed to make the chamber shielded and anechoic, meaning it is designed to prevent the signals from echoing or reflecting inside the chamber or from getting in from the outside–thus distorting RF measurements. (Source: Connected Development)

Regulatory and carrier requirements often present the need to test in RF and anechoic chambers. Any electronic device—wireless or wired—must meet certain governmental regulations, with requirements varying based on application and geographic location. Additionally, almost all products will need to meet government requirements for un-intentional emissions. Devices undergo anechoic or semi-anechoic chamber testing at an accredited certification lab to get certified or complete a Declaration of Conformity. Specifications may call out an Open Area Test Site (OATS) for testing but allow other calibrated chambers as alternatives. In these circumstances, it is best to undergo anechoic chamber testing rather than using an OATS site due to the controlled environment that anechoic chambers offer.

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that products meet FCC Part 15B if they contain a clock at 9kHz or higher, unless exempted (Title 47, part 15.05 Digital Device, 15.101). If the product includes a transmitter, additional radio-based testing is needed based on the spectrum the device operates in and other factors related to the product type.

For sales in Europe, the market requires a CE mark on the product. Part of the requirements contains an EMC directive or Radio Equipment Directive (RED), which has un-intentional emissions, spectrum efficiency, and immunity requirements.

Shielded from external interference, anechoic chambers offer a controlled environment for electronics testing. The following are key tests performed in anechoic chambers:

• RF/Antenna Performance Testing: A key test performed in an anechoic chamber is RF/antenna performance testing. RF performance is critical, and the evaluation ties into final certification. An anechoic chamber enables measurements of transmitter performance, and designers can decide if any antenna circuit matching needs to be adjusted or if an antenna needs to be changed. The types of testing supported include RF testing and RF performance of devices for un-licensed radio areas like LoRa®, Wi-Fi, GPS, and BLUETOOTH®, and licensed areas like cellular.

• Passive Antenna Pattern Testing: Anechoic chambers support passive antenna pattern testing for design, matching, or trimming an antenna. Testing the performance of antennas through the design phase is important, and in un-licensed certified modules, the antenna gain is limited by the certified module manufacturers’ limits or limitations presented by governmental bodies for the radio type and service. In cases where the antenna is designed into the PCB as a trace antenna, anechoic chamber testing can provide insights into the gain and efficiency of the design.

• PTCRB/CTIA OTA Testing: In the US, cellular device approvals are generally required to meet OTA and Radiated Spurious Emissions (RSE) requirements set by carriers like AT&T and Verizon. OTA test methods are determined by certification programs such as PTCRB, CTIA, or the cellular carriers themselves.

• Other Performance or Quality Testing: Other tests that can be performed in anechoic chambers include:
  • Pre-compliance testing throughout the development cycle to avoid costly re-work and redundancy in submission for final certification
  • Un-intentional radiated measurement testing
  • RSE testing for harmonics of the transmitter
  • OTA antenna testing
  • CE Immunity tests

From small, mounted chambers to rugged military-grade chambers, anechoic chambers come in many different shapes and sizes. The size and weight of the device and frequencies to be investigated help determine the size and type of chamber needed (i.e., measuring an automobile vs. a cellular phone). The internal turntable needs to be able to handle the weight of the device and rotate freely. The distance between the device and the antenna needs to be large enough to measure down to the lowest frequency desired. Typically lined with carbon-based absorbing materials or ferrite tiles, anechoic chambers are constructed in one of two ways—fully anechoic or semi-anechoic:

Fully Anechoic Chambers

Fully anechoic chambers (Figure 3) have absorbing material, ferrite material, or both on all surfaces—floors included. The goal is to absorb all energy, allowing the test antenna to measure only the energy seen in a direct line from the product being tested. Fully anechoic chambers are used to test for emissions, immunity, antenna pattern, and transmitter and receiver testing–including OTA.

Figure 3: Diagram showing placement of absorbing material in a fully anechoic chamber. (Source: Connected Development)

Semi-Anechoic Chambers

Semi-anechoic chambers (Figure 4) have absorbing material, ferrite material, or both on the walls and ceiling. For some test areas, absorbing material is placed between the test antenna and the product being tested, but is not present on all surfaces. Semi-anechoic chambers are used to test for emissions immunity testing.

Figure 4: Diagram showing placement of absorbing material in a semi-anechoic chamber. (Source: Connected Development)

To ensure optimal performance and compliance with governmental regulations, electronics must undergo thorough testing. Anechoic chambers provide a means to take repeatable RF measurements and eliminate reflections and outside interference. Testing is supported for both unlicensed and licensed radios. Anechoic chamber testing provides detailed insights into the performance of devices. It ensures the device's antenna performance meets the needs of the device, addresses governmental compliance, and assists in troubleshooting design modifications.

About Author

"Darin Hatcher is a Certification Manager at Connected Development with previous experience as a Radio Characteristics and Regulatory Engineer. Darin specializes in radio access stack, radio characteristics, FCC, and 3GPP type approval. His expertise spans IoT M2M areas for Cellular (5G, 4G including Cat-M and NB-IoT, 3G and 2G), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and LoRa®. In his current role, Darin oversees the certification process and testing for government regulations, (FCC, ISED, CE) and carrier requirements (OTA, PTCRB, CTIA, AT&T, Verizon, etc.)"

Originally Posted on Mouser