STMicroelectronics adds STM32WB wireless microcontroller

STMicroelectronics' STM32WB50 * Value Series Wireless Microcontroller (MCU) is a complete and pin-compatible derivative of the STM32WB55 system chip for cost-sensitive products that need to support Bluetooth® 5.0, ZigBee® 3.0 or OpenThread standards Networked devices. This series offers a good link budget from 100dB in Bluetooth 5.0 mode to 104dB in 802.15.4 mode.

The Arm®Cortex®-M4 core handles user application software. The Cortex-M0 + core runs the RF subsystem including the RF protocol stack and security functions. If developers want to isolate RF and application isolation to solve security or real-time application limitations, STM32WB50 Is the best choice.

The STM32WB50 combines powerful security with the economics of a premium series. The AES-256 encryption module and other basic security functions are integrated on-chip to provide a strong security guarantee for the application. The product has 1MB of flash memory and 128KB of RAM and allows over-the-air (OTA) updates of the RF protocol stack software. STM32WB50 follows the power saving mode of STM32WB55, which is ideal for energy saving applications.

By integrating the balun circuit, the STM32WB50 can save bill of materials costs and simplify PCB circuit board layout design. To further reduce bill of materials costs, the STM32WB50 package allows the use of very simple PCB boards with up to two layers.

As a complete derivative of STM32WB55, STM32WB50 also supports the market-tested STM32Cube ecosystem. Therefore, the new products are equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, BLE Mesh, ZigBee 3.0 or OpenThread certification protocol stack and a comprehensive toolkit. The protocol stack is distributed free of charge and is included in the STM32CubeWB MCU software package; the tool includes a radio frequency performance evaluation tool STM32CubeMonRF and a STTM32CubeProg programmer with functions such as radio protocol stack security programming.