Infineon Launches Wireless MCU Supporting Wi-Fi 6/6E, BLE, and Matter

The new microcontroller adds robust wireless connectivity and offloading to bolster the host processor.

Last week, Infineon added to a new family of connected microcontrollers (MCU) to its AIROC family for IoT applications. The ultra-low-power CYW55913 MCUs integrate support for Wi-Fi 6/6E, BLE 5.4, and Matter into one device, making it useful for smart homes, industrial IoT, and portable devices. 

The CYW55913 MCU. Image (modified) used courtesy of Infineon

The new family includes this wireless connectivity to overcome the modern challenges of device density, interference, and power consumption. 

A Wireless MCU for Modern IoT Standards

At its core, the CYW55913 family features a 192-MHz Arm Cortex-M33 processor with TrustZone security. This compute is complemented by 2 MB of ROM and 768 KB of SRAM. The device offers peripherals including a 12-bit, seven-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a rich set of interfaces (SDIO, SPI, UART, I2C, I2S, PDM, and GPIOs), and Quad-SPI (QSPI) Flash/PSRAM with execute-in-place (XIP) and on-the-fly (OTF) features.

Block diagram of the CYW55913. Image used courtesy of Infineon

The CYW55913 supports tri-band Wi-Fi 6E across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, with a 20-MHz channel bandwidth and Wi-Fi PHY data rates up to 143 Mbps. Integrated power amplifiers deliver up to +24 dBm Tx power. Its Bluetooth Low Energy 5.4 extends features like LE Long Range, LE 2 Mbps, and extended advertising. Bluetooth LE transmission power options range from +4 dBm to +19 dBm, with a sensitive -111.5 dBm Rx for Long Range mode.

The MCU operates between 3.0 V to 3.6 V and across a temperature range from -40°C to 85°C. It comes in a compact WLBGA form factor measuring just 3.57 mm x 5.32 mm with a 0.35 mm pitch.

The Technology Behind Wi-Fi 6E

Wi-Fi 6E can be thought of as an extension of the Wi-Fi 6 standard, improved to provide additional spectrum, more channels, less interference, and higher performance. 

Wi-Fi 6E's primary distinction lies in its operation within the 6-GHz band, which is less crowded than the traditional 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands. Operating in the 6-GHz band, Wi-Fi6E adds 1,200 MHz of spectrum to the existing 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands, resulting in up to seven additional 160-MHz channels.

The technology uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) to increase efficiency and capacity. OFDMA divides the spectrum into smaller channels, allowing multiple devices to communicate simultaneously without waiting for their turn. Meanwhile, MU-MIMO allows the router to communicate simultaneously with multiple devices, thereby improving overall network throughput and reducing latency.

Wi-Fi 6E introduces the 6-GHz band for the first time. Image used courtesy of Aruba Networking

Wi-Fi 6E may have a notable impact on the IoT. First, the expanded spectrum and additional channels reduce the interference and congestion of a growing number of IoT devices to enable more reliable and higher-speed connections.  Additionally, Wi-Fi 6E includes advanced features like Target Wake Time (TWT), which schedules device check-ins to reduce power consumption. Such features are designed with battery-powered IoT devices in mind and are extremely useful for extending device operational life and reducing maintenance.

Infineon hopes that its CYW55913 MCU, which supports Wi-Fi6E, can be a powerful new tool for design engineers, allowing for multi-protocol support in one compact, power-efficient solution.